


One Less

by LilliaLuna



Category: AI: The Somnium Files (Video Game)
Genre: Annihilation Route, Body Dysphoria, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Annihilation Route, Suicidal Thoughts, man this route really sucks for everyone doesn't it, no beta we die like everyone in this route
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:07:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27808039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilliaLuna/pseuds/LilliaLuna
Summary: In that timeline, there was total annihilation.But what if there hadn’t been? What if they’d caught the killer just a little bit earlier?What would have happened if just one less person had died?A series of annihilation route possibilities, moving backwards a bit more each time.
Relationships: Boss | Kuranushi Shizue & Date Kaname, Boss | Kuranushi Shizue & Pewter | Amanoma Futa, Date Kaname & Okiura Mizuki, Date Kaname & Sagan Hitomi, Okiura Mizuki & Pewter | Amanoma Futa, Okiura Mizuki & Sagan Hitomi
Comments: 9
Kudos: 34





	1. DESPaiR

**Author's Note:**

> I meant to post this for AIvember Annihilation Route day, but obviously that didn't happen. Oops. At least I made it before the end of November.

It couldn’t be real. It couldn’t.

Mom. Daddy. Iris. Ota. They couldn’t all be gone.

Surely it was just a bad dream. Surely she’d wake up in the morning and everything would be fine again.

How could they be gone? She had messages from them from yesterday.  _ Yesterday _ . They were completely normal. Casual as always. Nothing had felt off in the slightest. They were just regular people doing regular things.

So  _ why? _

She thought about contacting Ms. Sagan, but she couldn’t. Not so soon after she’d lost Iris. All she’d be to her was a burden. So she just sat on the couch, shattered.

How long had it been? She knew Date had stopped by earlier that day, but how long ago was that? She hadn’t eaten since then, and dimly, in the back of her mind, she knew she probably should, but she couldn’t find the will to.

Sleep came for her, eventually. Date never did. 

In the morning, when she awoke to sunlight streaming through the windows, she was alone. She didn’t know what time it was. The thought occurred to her that she should probably contact her school to let them know she was taking another day off, but she didn’t. It didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore.

Maybe, if she thought about it hard enough, she’d be taken to a parallel world where none of this happened. Iris used to talk about them all the time. Everything would be the same, but they would still be alive. Mom… Daddy… Ota… and Iris.

...Who was she kidding? Iris was gone. Any possibility of parallel worlds existing had died with her. She was just fooling herself, pathetically. She was so pathetic. Even if she wasn’t the most pathetic person who’d ever lived, she deserved to be. A tear rolled down her cheek. She didn’t bother to wipe it away.

Again, the hours stretched on, and she became more aware of her hunger. She ate a piece of bread just to take the edge off. She didn’t feel like putting in any more effort than that. It tasted like paper.

She was hot. She was cold. She couldn’t tell anymore. Still Date did not return, not even to check up on her. Good. He shouldn’t have. She was worthless.

She hated that he didn’t.

She was completely and utterly alone.

She again considered texting Ms. Sagan, but there was no point. She was just a burden, both to Ms. Sagan and Date. Nothing she could do would make anything any better for them. For all her strength, she was powerless when it mattered.

The video played over and over again in her head. Iris’s body on the table, and the saw cutting her in half. The fleeting ray of hope Ota had brought being crushed as he was unable to save her. The blind madness and confusion and denial that video had brought, and then learning it was all real. Learning the same thing had happened to him.

It should have been her on that table, not Iris. She was the reason her parents died. She deserved to die too. If she’d just been able to be a good girl, none of them would have died. Not Mom, not Daddy. If she’d just been stronger, Iris and Ota wouldn’t have been killed either. It was all her fault.

Was that what the killer wanted? To punish her for her disobedience and inadequacy? Fine. It was what she deserved, she supposed. She deserved all of this pain and suffering. Her failures had ruined their lives, and now it had killed them. She deserved a fate worse than death.

But she was selfish. She didn’t want to deal with that fate. She wanted to avoid all the consequences of her actions and escape this wretched reality. It wasn’t like anyone would miss her anyways. Her thoughts drifted to the kitchen knives. How hard could it be? It would only take a few seconds. It would be so easy, and then it would all be over. She’d never burden anyone ever again. They could stop pretending they wanted her around and finally be free.

She turned the idea over and over in her mind. Could she really do it? She didn’t want to try if she wasn’t sure she could. If she failed, she’d just be more of a nuisance. If she did do it, would she really see them again? If she did, she’d have to atone. Maybe there would only be darkness. Maybe God would bring swift and merciless judgement upon her. Any of those sounded preferable to this.

Ultimately, she didn’t have the will to do anything. She figured she could once she snapped out of her reverie. If she was just going to die anyways, she had all the time in the world to put it off.

That was her thought process, anyways. She didn’t expect there to be a knock at the door. That dispelled all her thoughts, and her heart swelled with a desperate hope that it was Date. She didn’t know why. Logically, she knew that in the face of death it didn’t matter, and even if it was him he didn’t care about her, but the hope seized her anyways. Somehow, she found it in her to open the door.

It wasn’t Date. 

All the hope in her collapsed. She’d seen the man before though, and he did work with Date; he was the one called Pewter. He apologized, and she nodded absentmindedly. He said some more things, but she barely heard them.

“Date’s in the hospital.”

And then all there was was terror.

No. No. She couldn’t lose him. Not now. Not him too. All she could manage was a gasp. Before she knew it she was sprinting to Pewter’s car, half running, half stumbling.

He tried to explain some things on the way there. None of it made any sense. Date looked like Boss? The killer looked like Date? Date’s fake eye had an artificial intelligence? He was in a sort of coma because he had psynced too much? It all sounded like gibberish. Even when something that did look very much like Date’s fake eye suspended in gelatin hopped out from Pewter’s pocket and introduced itself as Aiba, she just sat there numbly, her mind whirling and blank at the same time. She couldn’t think. She didn't want to think. It didn’t help that she was lightheaded, probably from only eating a slice of bread in the past two days and all the crying she’d done.

When they got to the hospital, it was Boss lying in the bed. She remembered what Pewter had said, but this wasn’t just him  _ looking like _ Boss. This  _ was _ Boss. 

“I want to see Date.”

“This  _ is _ Date.”

“No, it’s not. This is Boss. Where’s Date?”

Pewter shook his head. “The one you’re thinking of isn’t Date. He… was arrested. This is where Date’s mind is now.”

What did that mean? What was that supposed to  _ mean?! _

“[Mizuki.]” The eyeball creature climbed up onto Pewter’s shoulder. “[I know this is very difficult to understand, but hold on just a moment. I will send the footage of what happened to your phone.]”

There was Boss, but talking in a way that seemed so unlike her, and saying Date had stolen her body. Saying Date’s body was hers, saying she wanted it back; and then Ms. Sagan was tied to a chair with explosives strapped to her. Her head pounded. She could barely hear Date accept Boss’s proposal. The footage skipped ahead, and Date spoke, but it wasn’t  _ him _ . It was a manic voice, the same grating one Boss had just been speaking in, and when Boss stood up, injured, demanding to know where Ms. Sagan was, it was in the same tone Date always used.

“It might be too late by now,” said the voice that couldn’t be Date. Boss glanced at the laptop next to her, and the panic on her face turned to despair. There was a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of Mizuki’s stomach.

The awful voice laughed an awful laugh and turned away. Moments later, the screen filled with electricity, and the camera fell to the floor. Then, just as suddenly as it had fallen, it rose, and focused on the body of Boss, lying injured and crumpled on the floor. The camera never turned away from Boss, but Aiba called out to Date.

That was it. It was over. She couldn’t begin to comprehend what she had just seen, but one thing stuck out.

“Ms. Sagan…”

“[We… couldn’t save her.]”

“So… she…?”

“[She... has passed away.]”

All she could do was stare at the screen, not really seeing anything. What did it matter that yet another person was dead? What did it matter that it was Ms. Sagan? This killer was clearly intent on taking everyone she loved from her, so why not Ms. Sagan too?

Ms. Sagan, who’d let her stay over so many times… who always helped her when she needed it… who was Daddy’s friend… who made the best food… who cared for her like her own daughter… who was… really… like a second… mom…

She felt a lump in her throat, and when she did, it hit her all at once.

“No. No. No.” She put her head between her knees and whimpered. “Nonononono.”

“[Mizuki…]”

It  _ couldn’t _ be real.  _ This much _ couldn’t be happening. This  _ had  _ to be a dream. The one person she had left who cared about her couldn’t be dead too. It wasn’t true. It wasn’t. This was all just a terrible nightmare. A living, breathing nightmare.

Her head pounded more. It felt like her skull was going to split in half, as if her cranium would burst apart. She clutched at her scalp, nails digging into her skin, but nothing helped. It wouldn’t stop. “No,” she begged, to someone, anyone. “Please no.”

But it still didn’t stop. It just kept going. She was still in a chair in a hospital room with Boss’s body and Pewter and a sentient eyeball and holding a phone with a video of Date going insane and her homeroom teacher dying and messages that would never be answered.

_ Kill me. Kill me. Take me right now. I don’t want to live anymore. I’m sick of this nightmare. _

“Date,” she choked. “Where’s Date?”

“[His consciousness is in Boss’s mind. This is him.]”

“I’m sorry, Mizuki,” Pewter murmured. “It’s the truth.”

She couldn’t believe that. That wasn’t scientifically possible. This had to be some kind of elaborate joke. But in the video, he really hadn’t acted like himself at the end while Boss had, and Aiba had recognized Boss as Date…

“Date,” she whispered again. She slapped her head as hard as she could to get her mind off the pain and stood. “Is that really you, Date?”

He didn’t respond, of course. Boss just kept on sleeping.

Did they just want to make fun of her? To turn her suffering into some form of sick entertainment? Fine. She’d give it to them. She had nothing else left.

“If it really is you… I hate you.” She balled her hands into fists. “Everyone else is gone! You couldn’t save any of them! You always said that was your job as a police officer, but you couldn’t even do that. You’re a complete failure, Date!”

She’d thought she had no more tears left, not after the past two days, but they came streaming down her face. “You failed at saving them, and now you’re going to try to protect me, aren’t you? You suck, Date. I know I’m just a bother to you, but you’re going to keep me safe anyways. I don’t want to weigh you down anymore! I don’t want to be protected! I just want to die!”

Pewter and Aiba stiffened, but said nothing. Still the person on the bed did not move.

“...You’re not even going to let me do that, though, are you? After all this, you’re not even going to let me die.” Her voice broke. “You’re not even going to wake up and tell me that. You’re just going to be here. Why? Why do you care? Why should you care about me?!”

Boss’s face - his face, whoever's face it was - seemed almost peaceful. They couldn’t hear her. They didn’t have to live in this nightmarish world. They didn't have to see anything, feel anything, know anything. Just the empty abyss of sleep. She envied him. He’d failed all of them, and now he didn’t even have to face the consequences. “...I hate you, Date. You’re all I have left now. I hate you so much.”

It was all pointless. Who was she talking to? Whether Date was really in front of her or not, he couldn’t hear her.

There was only silence. Her face fell and she fought back more tears. Slowly, she backed away, and sat down in the chair next to Pewter again. He looked just as lost as her.

She tried to be brave, and strong, and independent like she was supposed to; but she couldn’t. When Pewter, the man she barely knew, hesitantly put a comforting arm around her shoulders, she couldn’t find it in her to swat him away like she normally would. She just leaned into him and let herself sob into his coat. Every sob sent a dull wave of pain through her head, and she wasn’t acting how she should, but she no longer cared.

_ Just… put an end to me. _

She didn’t know how long she was there, clinging to him, but it was long after her tears had dried. Her mind was lost in fog. She was too exhausted to think. Compared to the merciless world around her, he felt so warm.

_ Just… make it all stop. _

This time, the universe complied. The same black abyss Date was floating in slowly descended around her.

And, at least for a little while, there was nothing.


	2. REMaiNS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thank you to theskittypink for helping inspire me to finish this :)

So it was Boss.

He didn’t want to believe it. Part of him denied it, saying no, Boss wouldn’t do that. Boss wouldn’t murder five people and rip out their left eyes. She was corrupt and abused her power, sure, but he’d only ever seen her use that to solve cases. There was no way Boss was a serial killer.

If she wasn’t, though, how was he supposed to explain that somnium? How had she known who had killed each person? Why hadn’t she reported it? Was it just her own speculation, following the trail of suspects? Why had she pulled out So Sejima’s left eye and shot him in the head?

Had she orchestrated the entire thing? Why?

And what exactly was she planning to do to Hitomi?

For just a second, an image flashed in his mind. Watching himself pull out his own eyeball.

The sensation of his own fingers scooping out his own left eye-

The red glow of the psync machine behind them-

Behind  _ him _ -

An egg-

( _ Red _ glow?)

Maybe, just maybe...

He blinked, and it disappeared back into the frustrating space just beneath the surface of his memories. He was so close to a breakthrough, but it just wouldn’t come to him.

Enough. He could focus on that later. There were more pressing matters. It wouldn’t take long for Boss to be transferred to the interrogation room, so he only had a few minutes at most to talk to Pewter.

For once, the engineer was visibly angry, his fist clenched around the back of a chair. His eyes met Date’s as he entered. “I can’t believe this,” he snapped. “Renju killing Shoko? Iris killing him? So killing his killer? They all just killed each other?” He grit his teeth. “How did the Boss know? Why didn't she tell us? If there’s no one killer, then why did she kill So?”

“Believe me, I want to know just as bad as you do,” Date muttered. “I’ll find out everything from her.”

Pewter laughed, hollowly. “I doubt you’ll find much we can still use. The killers we’ve been chasing are all already dead.”

Was that… right? Was the New Cyclops Serial Killer - were the New Cyclops Serial Killer _ s _ \- really already gone? No, that couldn’t be it.

“No, I know Boss is involved in all of this. I’m sure she killed them all.”

“Huh? But you just saw in the somnium…” Pewter paused for a moment and composed himself. “What makes you say that?”

Why  _ did _ he say that? No, he hadn’t just said it; he  _ knew  _ it. Boss had to have killed all of them. Why did he know that, and how had she done it all? He shook his head. “I don’t know. But I know it’s true. Even though it looks like unrelated killings, it’s not. It was all her.”

Pewter’s fingers tightened on the back of the chair. “For the sake of my sanity… I’m not sure whether I hope you’re right or wrong. Please, discover the truth, Date.”

He nodded. “I will.”

Pewter nodded back.

They were probably almost out of time. He had to ask one more thing. “I’m assuming Hitomi is still missing. At the end of the somnium, we saw Boss threatening her. Are there any clues to her whereabouts?”

The engineer’s eyes went wide, and then he scrambled for his phone, pulling up a message. “Actually, yes - I meant to tell you, but then everything at the end happened. Someone reported suspicious behavior at the Boss’s house. They said a woman matching the Boss’s description forced another woman to go inside, and the Boss left, but the other woman didn’t. HQ sent a team over there a few minutes ago.”

Date’s breath caught. “You think that woman might be Hitomi?”

“Considering what we saw in somnium, I’d say it’s very likely.”

He didn’t know whether to be relieved or terrified. It was better than not knowing where she was, of course, but if it really was true… he could only hope there was still time.

[ _ Date, there is no point in us staying here any longer. Let’s go. _ ]

_ Yeah _ . He took a deep breath.  _ Let’s go. _

He’d promised Hitomi he’d find who was behind all this, and he had no intention of backing out of that promise. Especially not now.

* * *

His body was Saito’s. So who was he?

“Hold on.” He set his jaw, staring into eyes that weren’t quite Boss’s. “If what you’re saying is true, what about my personality?” 

[ _ It was in Rohan. _ ]

He snarled.  _ I’m not Rohan! _

[ _Correct. It is just as he said earlier. #89’s consciousness was in Rohan’s body._ _In other words…_ ]

No, that was… that couldn’t be. That was impossible. There was no way he had killed dozens of people. That wasn’t something he’d do. It  _ couldn’t _ be him.

But he didn’t feel the same vehement repulsion being accused of being Rohan had brought up. There was only something like familiarity, something that carried a heavy weight and a certain truth. And how had he known with such certainty that #89 had killed dozens? That had never been specified.

_ That was… me? I… I killed them? _

Aiba brought up an image of #89, and he suddenly found it very difficult to breathe.

_ That’s… my real… _

It was  _ him. _ It couldn’t be, but it was. It had to be.

Falco.

He was a detective gone rogue. An assassin for the Kumakuras. He’d dated Hitomi and been like a father to Iris.

Was that why he’d reacted so strongly when he first saw Iris? When he first saw Hitomi? Why he’d been so convinced the chairman of the Kumakuras was Rohan? Why #89 had seemed so uncannily familiar? Why the name “A-set” had rung so many bells?

Was that… really who he’d been?

“Keep talking,” he muttered.

Saito rolled his neck, Boss’s neck. “Sorry, but time’s up. I want my body back. It's quite simple. Psync with me, and stay inside my mind for more than six minutes.”

It was Saito’s body, so he did have a right to it. But… “And if I refuse?”

Saito chuckled. “I know that you won’t. I know it.”

“Huh…?”

“You’ll see,” he grinned. “Any time now.”

Silence. 

The seconds crawled by, and nothing happened. Saito’s grin did not falter. A minute passed, then two, but still he remained cocky. As it approached three, he finally slipped into a frown.

“Hmm. I suppose I overestimated how long this would take. Well, that’s fine.” Boss’s hand twitched. “Consider yourself lucky. You might actually have time to save her.”

“Save her?” Date echoed.

“Yes. You see, that  _ woman _ you cared so much about - that  _ Hitomi _ \- is currently in quite the spot of trouble.” Saito smirked. 

Date’s senses snapped to attention. “What?”

“Oh, I’ve got your interest now, do I?” His eyes glinted.

Date grit his teeth. “What did you do to her?!”

“Not much, really. Just tied her up. Maybe tied a few explosives to her. I might have set the whole thing up to be streamed for all the world to see, too.”

Just like Iris’s murder.

“You bastard,” Date spat, his mind flying into a panic.

_ Hitomi. Hitomi. _

“ _ If  _ you swap with me, I will tell you the location.” Saito’s face was manic. “What do you say, Date? Do you want to see her flesh burn and tear apart and scatter? I know you don’t. I  _ know _ you want to play the hero! If we start right now, you might even be able to save her!”

He couldn’t swap bodies with Saito. He couldn’t let him have his dysfunctional brain back. More importantly, he couldn’t let someone like him get access to Aiba. And he’d probably use that damn video to pin everything on Boss, and he’d be in his original body and walk away scot-free. Who knew what kind of atrocities he would commit like that? Who knew how many people he would kill?

But if he didn’t swap… then Hitomi…!

She’d been through so much. He’d promised her he’d catch the killer. He couldn’t let this happen to her. Not to mention, if he really was #89 - if he really was Falco - that meant he had dated her. He couldn’t remember any of it, but if he got his memories back in the future, would he really be able to bear it? Knowing he’d caused the death of the woman he’d loved? The woman who now had no one else left?

He wouldn’t be able to bear that guilt, but if he didn’t…

Saito…

Hitomi…

_ Dammit…! _

[ _ Date! _ ] Aiba’s voice broke through his thoughts. [ _ I just received a message from Pewter! Hitomi’s safe! _ ]

_ What? _

[ _ They found her in Boss’s house with bombs strapped to her just like Saito described, but they defused them all! She’s alive! _ ]

He inhaled sharply.  _ Wait, so…? _

[ _ We beat him, Date. He has no leverage! Hitomi isn’t in any danger anymore! _ ]

Date’s heart soared, relief crashing over him, and then all he could do was laugh, and he couldn’t stop.

“Ha… haha… haha!”

“Laughing isn’t going to help anything,” Saito snarled. “If you want to save her, swap with me.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Date went serious again, and drew Evolver from his holster. “I’m not laughing because I’m desperate. I’m laughing because you’ve failed.”

“What?” For the first time since the interrogation started, the arrogance vanished from his face.

Date pushed his chair back and stood, and pointed the muzzle of Evolver right at Saito’s forehead. “You underestimate other people, Saito. They’re more clever than you think. Hitomi’s already been rescued.”

Saito grit his teeth. “You’re bluffing. She’ll die if you don’t do anything at this rate.”

“No, I’m not. She’s safe. It’s over, Saito.”

Eyes that had once been Boss’s widened, disbelieving. The look of pure terror only lasted a moment, but Date relished every bit of it. 

Then it turned to fury.

“No,” Saito spat. “I  _ will  _ have my body!”

He lunged forward with impressive speed, grasping at the gun. Date’s finger twitched against the trigger.

The next thing he knew, the butt of Evolver collided with Boss’s skull with a sickening crack, and Saito collapsed to the ground.

Date could only stand there, breathing hard, adrenaline coursing through him. Or maybe it wasn’t all adrenaline. There was no fear. No guilt for what he’d done. Just a dizzying rush of pure euphoria. He’d never felt so incredible, and yet it terrified him.

He forced himself to calm down, at least outwardly, and shakily pulled out a pair of handcuffs. “You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you,” he muttered, kneeling down to put them around the wrists of Boss’s barely breathing body. “Your brain is one hell of a drug.”

He didn’t even want to think about just how  _ right _ being a serial killer must have felt to the body he now called his.

* * *

_ “Pewter, tell me. Am I #89?” _

_ “What?” _

_ “I know you know. I’m in Saito’s body. Saito was in Boss’s. You told me #89 is one of the two original killers. That means he’s Rohan, which means #89 and Rohan swapped, and Saito was in Rohan, which means #89 and Saito swapped after that. Which means #89 is in Saito. So tell me: am I #89?” _

_ “...” _

_ “Pewter,  _ please _.” _

_ “...Yes, Date. Your original body became #89.” _

That meant there was one person he had to see.

Hitomi.

He still didn’t remember her, of course. His memories hadn’t come back just from learning who he used to be. But it was only right that he visit her, especially considering that she’d almost become a victim herself, and that he promised her he’d catch the killer just the day before.

It was pretty early in the morning, but he doubted she’d been able to sleep, especially since she was still at the police station. Not that she’d probably have been able to sleep much anyways, after having lost her daughter in such a brutal manner.

She was sitting in a chair with a blanket wrapped around her. An officer must have given it to her. She was so still that at first he thought she had actually been able to fall asleep. Then she moved, noticing his arrival, and looked at him.

“Date,” she whispered. She looked even more shattered and hollow than she had the previous day.

His breath caught at the sight of her. What was he even supposed to say? How could he appear before her like this while she was still so lost in her grief.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I… caught them.”

“I know.” She glanced down. “That woman, right?”

“...Yeah.”

She closed her eyes. “She will be imprisoned, won’t she?”

“Of course. For the rest of their life.”

“Promise,” she said softly, her voice hoarse. “Promise me she will be.”

He nodded. “I promise. There’s no way they’ll ever be free again after what they’ve done.”

“Promise,” she said again, just as softly.

“I promise.”

She bit her lip. “When I was young, my best friend was murdered, and her killer went free. Years later, one of the people who helped cover up her death shot me. That’s why my arm is like this. He went free too.” 

He knew. He’d seen it in #89’s somnium. Rohan. And he’d seen the aftermath of that in his own dream.

Her eyes met his, pleading. “Please, don’t let that happen this time. Don’t let Iris’s killer get away too.”

“I won’t.” He returned her gaze. “I promise.”

She looked away and squeezed her eyes shut once more. Neither of them spoke. What could he have said, even if he’d wanted to talk? She had lost so much. She had lost everything. All he could do was stand there.

After an eternity, she finally broke the silence.

“Why?” She choked out. “Why us? Why Iris? Why Renju and Ota? Why?”

He couldn’t bring himself to tell her the truth, and he wasn’t allowed to anyways. Even if he could, he doubted it was a reason she would want to hear. “I don’t know.”

“Iris never did anything wrong. She didn’t deserve…” Hitomi bit back a sob. “She didn’t deserve this. None of them deserved this. They… they all…”

She trailed off. Again, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

“I just wanted to see her grow up,” she whispered. Tears fell from her eyes, and his heart constricted. He took a shuddering breath.

“I know,” he murmured. “I didn’t get to see the two of you together much, but I could tell just how close you were. I… can’t even imagine.”

If it had been Mizuki he’d lost instead of Iris, if it had been  _ her _ under that ice cutting machine instead,  _ her _ body lying helplessly on the table with her left eye torn out and someone streaming it just to taunt him, if it had been  _ her  _ the saw had descended on oh so slowly, but still not slow enough for him to save her… 

[ _ Date, don’t. Your heart rate and cortisol concentration are rising rapidly. You cannot afford to think about ‘what ifs’ right now. You are already exhausted. If you put yourself under any more stress, you might collapse. _ ]

She was right, he knew, and he certainly didn’t  _ want  _ to have that image in his mind, but even after he shoved the thought away, it stuck there stubbornly. It made his throat tighten, and maybe it was just because Aiba had pointed out his strain and exhaustion, but it made his eyes burn too.

“She meant everything to me. She… She wasn’t even  _ my _ daughter, but I…” Hitomi wiped her eyes with her hand. “My friend who was murdered, she was her daughter. Iris was just a newborn. I promised to protect her then, and she became my own, and I… I couldn’t even keep that promise. I never even got to tell Iris about her real mother. I was always too scared, and now… now she’s gone, just like Manaka...”

It took a moment for her words to sink in, and when they did, he couldn’t help but be surprised. “She was your friend’s daughter?”

She nodded weakly. “Yes. That never mattered to me, though. I loved her just as much as I would have had I given birth to her. But now it feels like I haven’t failed just her, but Manaka too…” She stopped, and let out a slow exhale. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. I never told anyone when she… when she was…” 

The word hung unsaid in the air between them. Neither of them wanted to point it out.

She tried to laugh, but no sound came out, only breath. “I guess it doesn’t matter now though, does it?”

Her eyes were filled with such sorrow he couldn’t bear to look at her.

_ Iris… _

His past was still missing, but he’d seen enough in the brief moment the three of them had spent together a few days ago. The way Iris had smiled, and giggled, and automatically gone to make the tea… there was no doubt she had truly loved her. 

Even beyond that, he just  _ knew _ . He wanted something more concrete to hold to, something solid to justify his feelings on - maybe a memory of the two of them, or the three of them, or something Iris had done for her - but there was nothing. He wasn’t Falco. Not anymore, and not yet. Even if that was who he was, who he’d been, at the moment he was only Date. He didn’t have any of those memories. Maybe being so certain Iris had loved her, even though he barely knew them, was the closest he had.

“Hitomi… I don’t know all the details, but I saw how much she loved you. You were always her real mother.”

“I… I know. And I know me not giving birth to her doesn’t change that.” She looked at him. “But I always felt like I was betraying her, you know? If she’d known the truth, maybe things would have been different. If I’d just told her, I wouldn’t have had to keep so many secrets and feel so guilty about it all. I had to lie to her so much, and I always hated it. And now I’ll never have the chance to fix that.” 

He couldn’t think of any response.

“Why was I the one to be spared?” She asked softly, her voice on the verge of breaking.

“Huh?”

“Out of all of them, why did I survive? That woman drugged me, tied me to a chair, and strapped bombs to me. I should have died, but I didn’t. I was saved.” She shut her eyes. “But I didn’t deserve to be. I’ve kept so many secrets, and told so many lies, but Iris and Ota were completely innocent. Why couldn’t it have been one of them? They… they were still so young. They should have lived, not me.”

If only he hadn’t been so gullible… if only he hadn’t stayed passed out for so long… if only he’d been just a little bit faster, he could have caught the killer. He could have saved them both. No, not just them - if he’d caught Saito that early, he would have also saved Boss, and So too.

“I’m sorry. I tried to save them, but it was too late. If I’d just gotten there a little bit sooner…”

Hitomi shook her head. “It’s not your fault. Maybe you couldn’t save them, but you still tried.”

_ If I’d just caught that polar bear, they all would’ve... _

...No, wait. He would have saved Boss, but So was the one in the polar bear suit. Saito was already in him then. He was the one who’d died there, not Iris. Iris had been in Renju.

Iris had  _ died _ in Renju.

Iris had died an entire day before her body was cut in half. No matter how fast he’d been, he couldn’t have saved her. She was long gone by then.

So he’d been helpless the entire time. That was even worse.

He had to fight back tears. Whether they were from sorrow, or anger, or something in between, he was unable to tell.

_ Iris… _

His head spun, lightheaded, but at the same time, it felt like it was being squeezed at the edges, like his brain (or was it Saito’s?) was being crushed. Static rippled across his vision.

[ _ Date, sit down immediately. If you don’t, you will collapse within seconds. _ ]

He didn’t have to be told twice. Half-blind, he found his way to the chairs mere feet from him, and took a seat next to Hitomi. Deep breath in, deep breath out. The spots seemed to consume his mind, and everything felt very far away. Then, just as quickly, they passed, and he was brought back to a reality of death and loss and utter exhaustion.

He was so close to remembering something, but he wasn’t sure if his body could take it. Not right now.

“I know it’s selfish, but… I almost feel like it would have been better for me to die too. At least then I could be with them. If they’re all gone, it’s almost crueler to make me stay.” She opened her eyes, her voice shaking. She didn’t seem to have noticed his struggle. Perhaps she thought he had sat next to her as a gesture of comfort. Well, that was fine. It was probably better that way anyways. “I can’t think that way. I know I can’t. I need to stay strong. Mizuki… she’s lost so much so quickly. I can’t even imagine what she must be going through. I can’t just leave her behind.”

He turned to her. “You know Mizuki?”

She nodded. “Yes. She’s in my class, and she’s come over for sleepovers with Iris a few times too. She’s always so kind and helpful, but she always looked so lonely, and now with both of her parents gone, and Iris and Ota… Why did this have to happen to her? She’s only twelve, but everything was stolen from her.”

It was all his fault. Saito was only targeting them because of what he’d done. It was a miracle Mizuki hadn’t been killed too. But taking everyone she loved and leaving her behind was even worse. For a child to be left with no one was a fate worse than death.

(His certainty of that again seemed far too specific, but he still couldn’t remember a thing.)

Saito had failed, though. Mizuki wasn’t completely alone. She still had someone left.

He’d been planning on going home after this anyways. After everything that happened, she wouldn’t want to see him, and she certainly wouldn’t want to go anywhere, but maybe this could help her. Help both of them, really. They had both lost everything.

Slowly, awkwardly, he said his goodbyes and left. The need for sleep drew a haze over his consciousness. He set Aiba in the steering wheel, just in case, but ignored it.

* * *

When he got home, he found Mizuki hugging her knees to her chest on the sofa, just like the previous day. Relief swept through him. Her face brightened for a brief moment when she saw him, but then became hollow again. She looked back down and barely spared him a second glance. His heart sank. 

As he’d thought. There was no way she wanted to see him. If she ever found out the truth, she’d hate him even more. There was little he could do for her, and that was the most painful part.

So he just took a seat next to her and told her the same thing he’d told Hitomi.

“I caught them.”

She only curled into herself more. She said nothing.

It was completely understandable, but he still hated it. Even after Shoko’s death, and then Renju’s too, she’d been determined to find the killer. It wasn’t a stretch to say her quips had gotten him through Renju’s investigation. Now, even that was gone.

Mizuki, Hitomi, Mayumi… all reduced to mere shadows of who they were. Saito had killed them too, in a way. None of them could ever go back to normal. He’d taken their whole worlds. The one who should have been in the body Date called his own had destroyed so much, all to take back the brain Date had stolen from him.

If only he’d known. If only he’d regained his memories sooner, like Saito had, and remembered the swap. Stopped Saito. Maybe he would have died in the process, but even if he did, he still could have saved them all. Mizuki would still have her parents and her friends, Hitomi would still have her friend and student and daughter, Mayumi would still have her son, and Boss… Boss would still be alive. They would all still be alive. Families wouldn’t have been ripped apart. If he’d died instead, it wouldn’t have affected anyone much. And if he could have made it out alive too…

_ Say something _ , he wanted to beg, but he didn’t, and she never did.

_ Well, we don't have to sit in silence. _

_ It’s fine. I don’t like hearing you talk either. _

He hated seeing her like this. He wanted to hug her or put an arm around her or just pull her closer or  _ something _ , but she’d swat him away. To tell her it was all okay, even though it wasn’t, and wouldn’t be for a long, long time. But she was already annoyed with him, and if he tried to explain anything she’d just be more angry. He hadn’t been able to save anyone when it mattered most. 

What right did he have to want to comfort her? He’d never been a good caretaker to her, and now his involvement with her had caused her real family to be stolen from her. He was the reason everyone she cared about most was dead. 

He stood, and she turned her head away from him. She’d never cried in front of him before, not really, but now she looked as if she were about to, despite her best efforts to stop it. He decided to grant her the levity of not having to.

“Mizuki, there’s somewhere I need to take you.”

She shook her head weakly, but otherwise didn’t move.

“Mizuki, please.” 

Maybe it was because he sounded exhausted, maybe it was because she just didn't care anymore, but she forced herself to stand and stared at her feet, still not sparing him so much as a glance. It hurt, seeing her so clearly not want to go but knowing it was best to take her anyways.

He sighed. “Thank you, Mizuki. And… I’m sorry.”

She didn’t move.

[ _ Perhaps it would be better if you told her where you were taking her, Date. She may be more inclined to go. _ ]

_ Oh, right. That would be good. I’m so tired of all this I’m forgetting things.  _ He rubbed at his forehead.

“We’re going to see Hitomi. Sagan. I heard she’s your teacher.”

Her head shot up, and her eyes widened. “Ms. Sagan?”

It was such a relief just to hear her voice and see a figment of emotion on her face, small they both were. For a brief moment, his heart felt so much lighter. “Yes. She was worried about you.”

It didn’t last long. Mizuki went silent again, and slowly looked back down at her feet, acknowledging his words with only a small nod.

“Thanks, Mizuki.” He sighed. “Let’s go.”

* * *

As they approached the police station, Mizuki pulled her knees into her chest. He looked over at her. She didn’t berate him for it this time.

“No more questioning.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to do any more questioning.”

“You won’t. We’re just going to see Ms. Sagan.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

But when they went in, Hitomi wasn’t there, only an officer. Mizuki noticed. For a moment, her face twisted with hopelessness and betrayal.

He asked where she was. The officer said they had taken her home.

He quickly apologized to Mizuki, and they got in the car again. More than anything, she just looked relieved.

* * *

He wasn’t sure what to expect when he knocked on the door. If there was no answer, he didn’t want to pry, but it would be so awkward to have to take Mizuki home then. He already felt bad for taking her outside. If it was all for nothing, he’d feel awful.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to go through that. Hitomi opened the door. Her eyes widened when she saw them, settling on the blue-haired girl.

“Dat… Mizuki.”

Mizuki froze. “Ms. Sagan.”

“Mizuki, I…” Her voice was thick, and she glanced down, blinking back tears. “I’m so sorry, I… I can’t…”

The tension in the air was palpable, a dam about to break. Date’s chest tightened.

“Ms. Sagan…”

She looked from Mizuki to him and back again, and he pressed his lips together and nodded. She blinked and inhaled sharply. “A-Ah, come in. Would you like some tea, or…?”

Mizuki shook her head weakly. “I’m fine.”

Her mouth opened, then shut again, and she stepped aside. “Okay.”

He didn’t miss the comforting hand she put on Mizuki's shoulder, or how Mizuki didn’t even pretend to lean away from her, or how when they sat down on the couch together she didn’t hesitate to rest her head on Hitomi’s shoulder. Something inside him ached at the sight. He couldn’t tell what.

He was sure that for them the silence was comforting. They were so close together they didn’t need words, not that they would have been much use anyways. No words could ever express the depths of their grief. For him, sitting across from them, it just hurt.

His head swam. He shut his eyes for a few blissful seconds, then forced them to stay open. He hadn’t slept at all since Ota had hit him with the taser two nights before, and it wasn’t like that had been particularly restful. Sitting there so quietly was only making him more drowsy. He looked around the room he somehow knew so well to distract himself.

When he saw the picture in the back again, his breath caught.

It wasn’t that he noticed anything new about it. But suddenly he  _ knew _ . He didn’t  _ realize  _ it. It had always been there. There was nothing else it had ever been. Him, Iris, and Hitomi; and the “Okonomiyaki War.”

_ It looks great, Iris… but why did you give me a beard? I’m not  _ that _ scraggly, am I? _

_ Hehe! That’s not a beard, Uncle! That’s just the flour stuck to your chin! _

His entire body stiffened. In his mind, all he could see was her grinning face, full of innocence and glee.

Her smile had been so bright. Smiling for Uncle.

Smiling for  _ him _ .

His jaw slackened as his body took in a shaky breath.

And then his mind opened like a fractal, and a thousand connections unfolded from that single one. 

And he  _ remembered _ .

_ Oh, I know! I remember! Then Isis goes “oh no!” and revives him, right? _

_...She’s the messenger goddess! And the goddess of rainbows too! _

_ I win, I win, yay! Now you have to take the penalty! _

_ Hehehe… I love you, Uncle! _

_...When will “Uncle” be “my dad”? _

It was him. It was all him.

He didn’t have time to process it all before Mizuki let out a sniffle. Hitomi pulled her closer, and looked at her with the most soft, sorrowful eyes, and when Mizuki glanced up to meet her gaze her own eyes filled with tears. Her lip quivered. She shut her eyes, and when that didn’t help she pressed her face into Hitomi’s shoulder, but nothing stopped. Hitomi gently rubbed her hand over the girl’s trembling back.

Their breaths were short and shaking, a silent mourning punctuated only by sharper breaths just loud enough for him to hear. They didn’t say a word, only curled into each other tighter. 

It made his heart sink. He wiped his eyes. When he looked up and saw them looking at each other, saw the redness in their eyes and the stains on their faces and the tears tumbling incessantly, unstoppably, down their cheeks, it broke him too.

_ Whether it be zombies or aliens or whatever else. I will protect you and Iris with my life! _

He’d said that right here six years ago, sitting in the same exact spot. But he hadn’t. He hadn’t protected Iris. He hadn’t realized the next target was Hitomi even though he should have as soon as he saw she was missing. If a random bystander hadn’t witnessed what Saito did, she would be dead too.

Not only them. He’d left Mizuki behind. He should have been there for her when she needed him, but instead, she’d been left all alone. He’d abandoned her at the lowest point of her life. And sure, it was for good reason, but that didn't matter.

He’d broken so many promises, and the aftermath of that was right in front of him. The two people he loved and had loved most were shattered, clinging weakly to each other as they wept without sound, for the girl who still hung over the room like a shadow and for so many others.

Shoko, Renju, Iris, Ota, Boss, Mayumi, Hitomi, and Mizuki. He’d failed them all when the time had come to prove his word. He hadn’t proven himself at all. He’d only done the opposite, and this was the result.

Maybe Saito had killed a part of him, too. The part that deserved their trust.

Even if they couldn’t trust him, at least they had each other. And that… even though it made something painful wrench deep in his heart, he hoped, for them, that was enough.


	3. RECLaiM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somnium Files fans come get y'all juice

Shizue’s day hadn't been going great anyways, and waking up to find herself lying in the back of a car she’d never seen before really didn’t help. 

Her head felt fuzzy and clouded. The last thing she remembered was going to So’s house and getting injected with something, then passing out. Now, she saw as she looked over, So was in the driver’s seat. She blinked. Her legs were cramped, folded up uncomfortably against her, and she stretched them out to get rid of the ache. That was when she noticed her ankles were bound together with rope. She nearly sat up to get a better look before it hit her that she’d been kidnapped.

A sudden burst of panic gripped her, but she forced herself not to move or make a sound, keeping her breaths as even as possible. She could see the rearview mirror angled towards her. If she moved too much, he’d catch on immediately.

Stay calm. She had to stay calm. There was a first for everything, right? If she’d made it through all her other firsts, she could make it through this too. She was the _commander of ABIS_. If anyone had the means to get out of this situation, it was her. She squeezed her eyes shut, begging her brain to pull itself together and come up with a coherent thought.

She needed to tell someone. Her phone. She could feel it in her pocket- _dammit_ , her wrists were tied together too, behind her back. Well, it only made sense that they would be. It would be difficult to do anything like this.

Difficult, but not impossible. And at a time like this, what other choice did she have?

She slowly rolled onto her side. The sweat on her skin had made her stick to the leather, and her body made a peeling sound as it moved. So’s head moved to check on her. She shut her eyes. Her heart slammed in her chest. A few seconds later she opened them, and saw he was focused on the road again. She resisted the urge to breathe a sigh of relief. 

With her body blocking her hands from being seen in the mirror, she grabbed her jacket, pulling the edge back until the weight of her phone brought it over her side, right into her hands. Slowly, one link at a time, she unzipped the pocket. She watched So the whole time, expecting him to notice at any moment, but he never did.

So Sejima, she thought, was a _terrible_ kidnapper.

Remaining as inconspicuous as she could, she pulled out her phone. It had been shut down - at least he had done _something_ right, she thought dryly. When she managed to boot it up again, it read 1:30 PM. So it was just about an hour after she’d gone to meet with him. Interesting.

Who to contact was obvious. Out of everyone at ABIS, Date and Pewter were the only two working the case, and Date was already driving around. And she didn’t trust any of the higher-ups or lower officers to be even remotely competent, especially since this involved So. Craning her neck to see the screen, she pulled up Date’s - Aiba’s? - number and sent the briefest message she could, careful not to let her fingers make too loud a sound as she typed. Thankfully, the noise the car made just passing over the road covered most of it. So still didn’t seem to notice. Maybe his observational skills were starting to go.

_Help me_

_So sejima kidnapped me_

It couldn’t have taken more than thirty seconds to get a response, but it felt like an eternity. The only sound was her pounding heartbeat. Then, finally-

 _Where are you_?

_In a car_

_Hes driving_

The silence seemed to drag on even longer this time, but finally he responded.

_Ok. I’m coming. We’ll find you. Don’t worry about telling us the location._

Why shouldn’t- oh, right, Aiba could track her GPS. She went into her phone’s settings and made sure it was still on. It was. She had never been so glad to have someone invading her privacy.

She put the phone down and went over her options. So was still focused on the road, but it was too risky to use her phone much more. She practically had to twist her body into a pretzel to read and type, and if he realized she was awake, she was screwed.

Her second thought was that she could kick the crap out of him. If she was fast, she could take him unawares and get the upper hand. But she was still bound, and she doubted her legs would be up to the task after having been drugged. Besides, he was bigger and stronger. Even if she weren’t bound, it seemed unlikely that she could outmatch him in terms of raw strength. And even if she did, he might lose control of the car and go careening off the road, and her whole goal was to _not_ die.

With her ankles tied, she couldn’t run. With her wrists tied, she couldn’t fight. What did she have left?

She couldn’t come up with anything.

Meaning her only hope was to somehow remove at least one of those things.

Her fingers strained for the rope, but when they finally reached it, they found no leverage. She grit her teeth and tried again. Still nothing. If she could just manage to undo the rope, maybe she could use it to choke him out or something-

She glanced at So, and he looked in the mirror. In the reflection, her eyes were wide open. She couldn’t suppress a gasp.

It happened so fast she barely had time to figure out what was going on. The car slammed on its brakes. So reached for something in the glovebox. She kicked his neck as hard as she could, but he didn’t even flinch, as if he hadn't even felt it.

His seatbelt came off, and he twisted towards her, something in hand. When she saw what it was, a thrill of terror shot through her.

Sleeping gas.

_Don’t breathe, don’t breathe, don’t breathe-_

The nozzle clamped over her mouth and nose, and somehow she managed to hold her breath. But all he had to do was wait. Eventually, her body would force her to breathe.

In a last desperate attempt at something, anything, she looked out the window. 

The buildings were weathered from years of not being cared for properly, and there wasn’t a single other person or vehicle around. Her heart leapt into her throat. There was only one area she knew of like that within an hour's drive of Azabu.

And Shoko’s body had been found within it.

A million thoughts raced through her head. Was So the New Cyclops Killer? Why? As revenge for his son’s suicide? But he’d never cared about Saito, and So would never get his hands dirty. He wouldn’t stoop to the level of becoming a serial killer himself. Yet there she was, drugged and tied up in the back of his car.

It didn’t make sense. None of it made sense. But she didn’t have time to think about that.

Her need for air finally overtook her will to resist, and she breathed.

The only thing she felt as her consciousness slipped away was a dreadful certainty.

_I’m going to die._

* * *

This case was a pain. An even bigger pile of paperwork than normal sat on her desk, and she really didn’t feel like doing it. She sighed and stole a look at the top one.

Oh. Someone had filled most of it out for her. All she had to do was sign her name at the bottom. Well, that was easy. She took a pen and signed it, then set it aside.

The next one was the same way, oddly. It must have been her lucky day. Psync consent form for Iris Sagan… hadn’t she already signed that? Huh. Maybe she’d just imagined it. 

She went to sign her name again, but her hand suddenly flew up the page, leaving a clean line of pen straight down the middle. She blinked, and the paper ripped in two.

_...What?_

Then there was the telltale sound of chains being released, and somehow everything felt a little less safe.

_Was that a mental lock?_

Why would there be a mental lock?

Her hand felt weightless- no, her _entire body_ was weightless. She grasped the pen tighter. She couldn’t _feel_ it. It was solid as ever, but not-

It hit her all at once.

_I’m dreaming._

She was being Psynced.

Her conscious mind flooded back to her, and the world began to fade. Focus on the dream, she remembered hearing from Pewter - look at your feet and spin in circles. Force your brain to concentrate on it. She looked down at her feet and spun. _I’m in my office. I’m in my office._

The dark spots vanished from her vision. She was still there, in the dreamscape, but conscious. A lucid dream.

Good. Now she had to figure out what was happening. Was she really being Psynced? The last thing she remembered, she was somewhere in Kabasaki, being put to sleep by So.

If this really was her Somnium, she was curious - what secrets was she hiding from even herself?

No way to figure that out but to go forward, she supposed.

She hurried to the door and yanked it open. What awaited her outside was the harbor warehouse district.

Iris and Ota’s death, maybe?

No. Two figures stood at the edge of the harbor. One gripped a knife, while the other held a gun. The one with the knife threw their hands in the air.

“Okay, I get it. I’ll just throw down my knife. Here.” The knife fell to the ground. “And now you lower your gun. It’s fine. I got nothin’ else on me.”

Huh? What was this? She didn’t recognize it. She moved in closer to look.

“I’ll go quietly,” said the figure who was now empty-handed, a sneer in their voice. As she got closer, she could tell it was a man. They both were. The other man still didn’t move.

“You know, I have a history with hospitals. I’ve been going to a special hospital for a while. Even if I get caught, it’s all good. I’ll come right back out again. What should I do next time…?”

No, wait, this was…!

_He was taunting me, saying he’d do it again, and my hand just…_

She lunged forward with all her might.

“Just _thinking_ about it gets me _excited_ …”

“Hayato, _no!_ ”

But she was too late. 

A deafening crack split the air. Then seven more. Then the man collapsed onto the pavement in a bloody, broken heap.

And the one left standing with the gun was Date.

Well, of course it was. He and Hayato were one and the same. That he’d manifested in her dream as the way he looked now wasn’t all that surprising.

No, wait. He was dressed the way he’d been when she first found him wandering the streets of Golden Yokocho. Why would that be?

Before she could figure it out, he opened his mouth.

“I see,” he said. The words dropped with venom. She’d never heard him speak like that before. It sent a shiver through her. His face twisted into a smirk, and the chains released again.

_Saito._

He looked exactly like Saito.

It couldn’t _actually_ be him. He had leapt from the roof of the chemical plant in Rohan’s body. He was dead. It had to be the version of him that existed in her subconscious, but that version was just as terrifying. He lurched toward her, gun still in hand, and she ran. 

This was _her_ dream. She could control it as she saw fit. All she had to do was run the time down. Then she could wake up and get whichever Psyncer was doing this to explain why.

_There’s a huge wall of oil drums. They block the path between Saito and me._

Sure enough, one appeared, reaching high into the sky. All right. No person could break through that.

Pass the time, pass the time… time moved forward in Somnium based on the subject’s perception of it. She focused on the wall and counted out the seconds.

_One, two, three…_

_Twenty, twenty-one…_

_Thirty-six..._

_Fifty-four…_

She was going to do it. She was going to make their six minutes run out.

...Wait, why hadn’t Pewter said anything?

_Fifty-nine…_

A full minute passed, and Pewter said nothing. Drawing a shaky breath, she peered around the edge of the drums.

Saito was… dancing. He met her eyes and grinned a psychotic grin, then stopped and gave the oil drums a solid kick. When it did nothing, he began to climb them. She willed him to be pushed away. He was, but went right back, and tried again. The grin never left his face. It was as if he didn’t care about the time at all. Like he was _trying_ to waste as much time as possible.

_...No._

_No no no no no-_

She willed everything to disappear. To be left with just her and the Psyncer. She had to get out _now_.

The world turned black and empty, and she was left with only Saito Sejima.

She snarled. “Who are you? Why do you look like _him_?”

He said nothing, just slowly raised the gun to her head. Fine. If he wanted to play that game, so be it. She grit her teeth. “Shoot me,” she spat. “You won't get what you want.”

He opened his mouth wide, and manic laughter filled the expanse of nothingness. “Oh, Miss Kuranushi, six minutes have long since passed. I already have.”

All she knew melted into terror. The last thing she felt was her skull shattering into fireworks.

* * *

She woke up afraid and couldn’t remember why. When she realized she could only see black, she had her reason.

_Ow._

Everything _hurt_ . Her ears rang, and a sharp ache bit at the side of her left thigh. When she tried to swallow, it felt like a spike was being driven into her throat. Her left eye burned, as if it had been left open for far too long, and a pulsing soreness lay behind it too, like an ocular migraine. She tried to close it, but her eyelid fell against _flesh_ , something she hadn’t even thought possible, and then onto something fibrous and wet and ropy.

She half-choked and moved to paw at her face, bile rising in her throat, but she couldn’t lift her arm. It felt so much weaker than normal, and more than that, heavy. Even trying to move her fingers was a herculean task. It was as if her limbs were buried in a sucking mud, and she couldn’t pull them out. Whether that was due some sort of drug or the pain blazing through her she couldn’t tell. Maybe both. She groaned, and her voice came out much deeper than she imagined.

Outside of darkness, pain, and the ringing in her ears, there was nothing.

Then something reached down into her helpless world. A pressure lifted from her face, light flooded her vision, and the thing in her eye came out with a sickeningly slick feeling she’d never forget. Someone grabbed her left eye - it was only then that she realized her eyeball was _outside its socket_ \- and pushed it back into her skull with a _pop_ that made her feel even sicker. She shut her eyes and grit her teeth, begging the pain and the pounding in her head to subside.

When she finally opened them again, she saw… herself.

That couldn’t be right. She blinked, over and over again, but the image did not change.

And then it _grinned_.

“Hello, Miss Kuranushi,” it said, a perfect mirror of her own voice. An uncanny feeling of déjà vu swept over her, sending prickles up her spine. “I told you, didn’t I?”

The thing that looked like her leaned in with a chuckle, and then its voice dropped into a tone so low and chilling it made her skin crawl. “Your six minutes ended a long time ago.”

_Six… minutes…?_

It sighed, slipping back into her normal tone. She couldn’t tell which one was more unsettling. “You’re lucky, you know. I was fully intent on killing you. But then I saw the messages you sent on my phone and got a _much_ better idea.”

 _Their_ phone…?

Her mind was hazy, as if there was a fog over her consciousness. She couldn’t think straight.

“Well, you made your bed, now you have to lie in it.” Her body spoke with an air of boredom, casually examining its nails. “Your _Date_ should be here soon. I’m sure he’ll be quite happy with how things turned out.”

She tipped her head, trying to figure out what was going on, and felt a headrest beneath her. More importantly, her hair was shorter than she’d ever had it cut, and thinner than she’d ever seen it.

_What…? What happened to me…?_

She looked down at herself and froze.

Her body was built like a board, and she was dressed in a long purple robe. The sleeves pooled around her wrists. The two sides crossed over her chest, creating a high collar.

But there was nothing underneath _._

Oh god. What had they _done_ to her?

_Ugh, I’m stupid. There was never anything there. Why did I think there was? I’m not a woman._

_Huh? No, what am I… Of course I’m a woman. I always have been. I’ve never worn this before._

_But I wear this every day._

_I…_

There should have been something underneath. There had never been anything beneath it. 

She’d never worn anything like this in her life. She put it on every morning. 

They both felt true. She _remembered_ both.

_No, this is what So Sejima wears. Not me._

And yet a powerful force told her that was _her_ name.

_That’s me._

_What…?_

She - or was she a he? She didn’t know - forced herself to move and pried herself out of the chair she was seated in. She collapsed to the floor, and intense pain shot through her leg. She hissed. When she looked up, she saw a Psync machine.

_That’s not… is that the prototype…?_

_Your six minutes ended a long time ago…?_

And in a moment of terrible realization, she understood.

“N-No...”

The voice that came from her mouth was So Sejima’s.

The cold bolt of terror that shot through her was unlike any she’d ever known.

_Get out get out GET OUT-_

Her clothes were wrong. Her build was wrong. The way her weight fell around her was wrong. Parts of her that should have been there weren’t, and parts she should _not_ have had were _very much_ present. Everything about it was _wrong._

She was Shizue. She was Shizue. She repeated that to herself over and over. But she wasn’t. Memories pressed in on the corners of her mind, things that couldn’t belong to her but that were so _vivid_. Memories of a wife, a son, a mistress, a tragedy, innumerable crimes - things she’d never known, but which were now hers.

He was gone, but he was still there, looming, lurking. He was who this body was, and now she was the one in it. 

She was Shizue.

She was So.

She was him and he was her and they were one and the same-

This wasn’t her. She had to leave. This body wasn’t hers. _She wasn’t her body_ . It was no longer an extension of herself, it was a prison, a form she couldn’t _bear_ and that she had to leave and she had to get _out-_

Her body - _her_ body, not _this_ , not the arms and legs and voice she controlled but the person standing _across the room_ and yet that was the only _her_ she’d ever known - chuckled. “Finally figured it out, did you?”

She spoke, and the words croaked out in So’s voice. “Who _are_ you?”

“You should know that better than anyone. I’m ‘Boss’.” Her body grinned. “Although I guess you can call me the New Cyclops Serial Killer.”

So it was true. “I know _that_.” She grit her teeth. “You… You’re not So.”

“Oh, you figured that out too? Well done.”

If this wasn’t So… then he must have died sometime before. When? How?

...Agh. She couldn’t think straight. The sedative had worn off enough to let her speak and move around a bit, but it still clouded her thoughts. She switched topics. “Iris, Ota, Renju, Shoko… why?”

“Hmm?”

“Why… did you kill them all?”

“What do you mean?” Her body put a hand up to its chin. “You’re the one who killed Iris and Ota.”

“Huh…?”

“I’m sure Date will be glad to finally capture you. He’s been looking for this killer, you know. He’ll appreciate you leading him straight to you.”

_No._

In her fractured mind, she finally pieced together what their “much better idea” was.

“All the evidence will point straight to you as well! Really, how generous of you.”

She tried to stagger to her feet, but pain shot through her left leg, and she crumpled again. She hissed. Her kneecap met the concrete with a _crack_.

Her body sighed. “Well, he should be almost here by now. Perfect timing! You’re a little too feisty, but that can easily be solved.”

Her body picked up a syringe off a nearby table and began to approach her. She tried to swing out her arm - So’s arm - but it was slow and sluggish, and her body easily batted it away. A sharp prick hit the side of her neck, and she gasped.

Her tongue grew thick in her mouth. Her vision swam. Her mind dissolved into a haze. As her consciousness faded, she could only repeat her earlier question. 

“Who… _are_ you?” 

Her face smirked, a twisted thing that absolutely did not belong there.

If there was a reply, she never heard it.

* * *

“Boss!”

The voice jolted her awake. She raised her head and blearily looked up at the fuzzy image before her. All that came out of her mouth was a small groan.

 _Date_ …

She couldn’t speak. The sedative had done its job. Next to her, her body said something, but although she heard the sound, it meant nothing to her. None of it registered as words. She could only look on helplessly.

_Date, it’s me…_

He asked something in a shocked tone, and his eyes darted between her and her body. Her body responded smugly.

“...myself… choked… rope.”

She blinked. Things were starting to come back into focus.

“...looked around… found some sleeping gas. ...kept him sedated.”

“You… to just untie yourself?”

“Yep.” Her body sighed, and something circular and cold nudged against her temple. It took her a few moments to realize it was a gun. “Apparently the old bastard has no idea how to kidnap people properly.”

“Huh.”

She still couldn’t speak, but at least it seemed her mind was clearer now. The ease with which her body spoke was disturbing. There were no traces of the conflict of identity she was experiencing in their voice. They wore her body as if it were their own.

_Please… recognize me… that’s not me..._

She pleaded silently, hoping against all hope that maybe, just maybe...

But instead, he smiled, and her hopes came crashing down. “Well, that’s convenient.”

“Yeah, it is. I’m pretty sure he’s the New Cyclops Serial Killer.”

“Don’t be too hasty.” His eyes narrowed. “He’s definitely involved, but I don’t think we can peg him as the killer just yet.”

“Fair point. But I noticed he was limping earlier. I checked, and he had a really nasty injury on his left leg. I think he must have gotten it sometime in the past day. He wasn’t limping when you met him yesterday, was he?”

“No.” He blinked. “You don’t… think he got it this morning, do you?”

“Ota and the polar bear were struggling offscreen for a while, weren’t they? It’s not unreasonable to think that Ota might have injured him in some way.”

_Date, please…_

But there was no reason for him to doubt. Her body moved and spoke and made expressions in the same way she did. There should have been _something_ off about it, something to show that wasn’t _her_ speaking in that body, but there wasn’t. It was like watching a recording of herself, except it unfolded in real time in front of her, and she had no control over anything. All she could do was watch, fruitlessly hoping it was all a dream as a dead man’s identity pressed in on her mind and very real pain throbbed across his body.

“Then his blood might be at the cold storage warehouse!”

“Bingo. And if it is…”

_The boy, scrambling backwards, cornered at last. His was a delightful panic. His hand fell against a remote control, and he threw it, but it bounced harmlessly off the costume…_

_Didn’t he realize? He’d made himself an enemy of the invincible._

_The terror in his eyes… yes, that was it. The pure, dizzying glee. Nothing had ever been quite so_ thrilling.

Then… and then… a force that turned the world sideways, that ripped everything to shreds. The leg that was not quite hers burned red-hot, as if the crane hook were piercing her, him, them both all over again.

“We’ll know for sure he’s the killer.”

“Exactly.”

The carnage had been horrific.

And _so beautiful._

_Art._

_THIS ISN’T ME!_

This body wasn’t hers, these actions weren’t hers, these memories weren’t hers. She wasn’t living. She was trapped. She’d never done that, so why was she the suspect? She hadn’t killed them, so why _had_ she?

Date knelt down next to her. Cold metal clamped around her wrists, but she barely felt it. 

“Da… te…”

There would be plenty of blood at the warehouse. More than enough to convict her. Iris and Ota, and probably Shoko and Renju too…

“Help… me…”

“He’s waking up.” Her old friend’s eyes were devoid of all warmth. Sharp and merciless and frigid. She’d always hated those eyes. Like his mother’s had been, but dead. The mere thought of him was repulsive. He’d hated him since birth.

“No problem.” Her body pulled out the sleeping gas that had been in So’s car.

In her last moments, he stood right in front of her, but Date was gone.

* * *

The next time she woke, she was somewhere she recognized: the solitary confinement cell at ABIS.

She sat up with a groan. Pain shot through her left leg, and she winced, but it was duller than before. She put a hand on it. There was a new, tighter layer of cloth wrapped around the injured part of her (well, So’s) thigh. Someone must have bandaged it.

Her eye and neck were still sore, but nothing like before. How long had it been since she’d been knocked out? She probably should have been in a hospital, with all the damage to So’s body. Had she already been there?

No, that couldn't be it. That leg injury would have kept her there for a while, and she would have woken up at least once during that time. So why was she-

Boss.

Or, more accurately, the person who now wore her face. They would have the authority to keep her here. Along with _numerous_ other things.

Shoot. She needed to talk to Pewter _immediately_.

A guard stood just outside the cell. “Hey,” she called out to him. She knew she was in So’s body, but hearing that voice come from her mouth still took her by surprise. She grimaced.

But she received no response. She took a deep breath and tried again.

“Hey. You. Is it still November 4?”

The guard shot her a look, but she didn’t budge. After a moment, he gave in and nodded slightly. “Yeah.”

“What time is it?”

“About 9:00. PM, of course.”

So it had been around seven and a half hours since she’d been in the car. Probably about eight since she’d been put to sleep last. And, depending on how long procedures would have taken… the New Cyclops Serial Killer had probably been running around unsupervised in her body for at least six hours. The thought made her stomach churn.

“I need to speak with Pewter.”

The guard ignored her.

She hauled herself off the bed and limped over to him. “Amanoma. The engineer. I need to speak with him immediately. It’s a matter of national security.” 

He continued to ignore her. She was glad he was unfazed by So’s status, but right now she needed all the corruption she could get. She put on the sleaziest smirk she had in her. “Unless you’d prefer some rather sensitive information getting out, of course.”

He still said nothing, but she could tell she had his attention.

“I won’t repeat myself again. Let me speak to Amanoma.”

The guard took a deep breath. She held hers. A few seconds later, he relented, and muttered something into his communicator.

“They’re in the middle of something.”

“I don’t care. Bring him to me. Now.”

He reluctantly grumbled something else. After a few moments, he sighed and grit his teeth. “He’s on his way.”

Relief swept through her. “Thank you.”

The guard looked at her funny, and she realized an arrogant politician like So never would have apologized. But she didn’t care. All that mattered was Pewter.

It only took a few minutes for him to arrive. He was visibly frustrated. She couldn’t blame him.

“Yes?” He asked, clearly exasperated. “What do you want, So?”

She eyed the guard. “I need to talk to you _alone_.”

Pewter’s eyes narrowed.

“You have the right to refuse, of course. But if you do, know that I will have no qualms revealing everything that happened six years ago. Including what your machine can do.”

“Fine,” he spat. He looked at the guard. “I’m sorry, but please wait outside.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

The guard left. An awkward silence passed between them.

“I know you killed them, So,” he hissed as the door closed.

She only waited another moment after it had, and looked him dead in the eyes.

“Semblance.”

He blinked. “...What?”

“I said, _semblance_.”

She could see the instant it hit him. The anger melted off his face, and his eyes widened. “W-What?” He stammered, fumbling for words. “Ah… I’m sorry?”

She shook her head slowly. “...I guess not. Sorry, I mistook you for someone else. A friend from college. We had a few classes together.”

“Uh... What did they go by?”

“Boss. Shizue Kuranushi.”

He inhaled sharply, but said nothing else, even though he was supposed to. She sighed. “Geez, Pewter. I know it’s been a while since we went over the protocol, but you of all people should know it.”

He wrapped a hand around one of the cell bars. “Is it really you?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “How else would I know all that?”

He still didn’t seem entirely convinced. Thankfully, he was willing to play along. “What happened?”

“So called me out to discuss Saito, and when I got there, he put me to sleep. I woke up in the back of his car and texted Date, but he caught me and drugged me again. When I woke up after that, I was in a Psync machine in an abandoned building, and someone else was in my body. They pretended to be me and had Date arrest me.”

Something flashed in his eyes. His grip on the bar tightened. “Another Psync machine?”

“Yes. It glowed red instead of blue. From what I saw, it was exactly like the Chiba prototype. That must have been where it ended up after it was stolen six years ago.”

He hesitated. 

She looked at him intently. “Pewter, please. I can see it. This body killed Iris and Ota. The New Cyclops Killer is in my body. This is an emergency of the highest degree. We don’t have time to waste.”

A long moment of silence passed, and then he finally spoke. “When’s your birthday?”

“What?”

“Just answer the question.”

Ah. So he was still testing her. “December twenty-fi…” She trailed off.

December 21? Was that… right? Wasn’t it on the seventh?

...No, it was the twenty-first. So’s was on the seventh. She swallowed, and part of her throat burned where she’d kicked him earlier. So it _had_ hurt him. So, or whoever had been in his body, must have had some freakish pain tolerance.

“December 21.”

“Favorite kind of alcohol.”

 _Sake_ , said another voice within her, but this time it was easier to dismiss.

“Dom-P.”

“Date.”

Date? What kind of question was that supposed to be? She tipped her head. “What do you mean? He’s a Psyncer, Aiba is his left eye, horniest guy you’ll ever meet-”

“I meant his original name.”

“Ah. Hayato Yagyu. He’s always been a good friend of mine.”

He let out a long, slow breath, but said nothing. 

She huffed. They didn’t have time for this. Her body was out there with the New Cyclops Serial Killer in it. Every second they wasted was a second closer to the next murder. “Damn it, Pewter, I said the code, didn’t I?”

“I know you did, but…” He opened his mouth, but looked down and closed it again. 

She sighed. Fine. She’d have to give him undeniable proof. An idea came to mind, and, half-closing her eyes, she smirked.

“Yes, I was the one who stole your gay manga. It’s under the rug in my office.”

He looked back up at her. “Huh?”

Good. She had his attention. She grinned. “You know, I always thought it would be pretty kinky to be inside a man, but this just sucks.”

He blinked. “I… Okay. I get it. It really is you.”

 _Finally._ She smiled thinly. “Of course it is. Would So say things like that? Anyways, we need to move. The New Cyclops Killer is out there in my body.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “This isn’t good.”

“Where are they now?”

“I-I don’t know. I haven’t seen them since about 3:00.”

3:00. Her six hours estimate had been spot on. “Can’t you track my GPS?”

Pewter shook his head. “Not at the moment. I don’t exactly keep random GPS trackers around. Aiba can do it, but she and Date are in the middle of a Psync right now.”

She groaned. “So they’ve had four and a half hours to do whatever they want. That’s more than enough time to set up another crime.”

“Who would it be?”

“I don’t know. We’ve looked for connections between the victims, and they definitely all have ties, but…”

They both paused to think, and then suddenly his eyes widened. “Oh no.”

“What?”

“The prototype doesn’t use nanocables, so you need to remove the left eye to Psync with someone.”

She remembered the feeling of that _thing_ in her eye socket, sliding out of the cavity, blinking to find nothing there. She shivered. “Yeah. I know. That happened to me.”

“And if all the victims had their left eyes removed, then…”

She gasped. “It’s a chain.”

“That has to be it. That’s why our prime suspect is always the next victim. They’re killing, then swapping into another body and killing the one they were just in.”

“Yeah.” She nodded.

“Why didn’t they kill you?”

“I think it was because I texted Date. If they had killed me, he would have found my body and arrested them. They knew that evidence at the warehouse would point to So.”

He reached up to adjust his glasses. “But they also must have known we’d find out sooner or later.”

“...They just needed to buy more time.” A terrible feeling crawled into her throat. “All they need to do is swap into someone else and we’ll be right back at no information.”

Not only would another person die, but _her_ body would die with them.

Was that how this was going to end? Knowing there would be another victim, knowing exactly what would happen, and yet being powerless to stop it?

No. No. That couldn’t happen. If she had to stay in So’s body for the rest of her life she was going to _lose her mind_ . It was too heavy, too broad, and worst of all, the _memories_ -

If she stayed as So, she’d lose her entire sense of self.

_I’m Shizue. I am Shizue. Boss. Not So._

Now that she knew what was going on, it was admittedly easier to separate herself from him, but if she were forced to live in his body…

Her thoughts were interrupted by Pewter calling for the guard. “Hey. We need to bring him to the Psync room. It’s a matter of life and death.”

The guard’s eyes went wide. “Y-Yes, sir.”

He unlocked the cell, and she limped out. She was still cuffed, but at least she was free. She nodded at him.

“All right.” Pewter grabbed her arm to help steady her. “Let’s go.”

They had hardly left the room when his phone rang. He glanced at the caller and picked it up.

“Yes?”

“Pewter! We need you over here right now!”

The voice coming from the other side was Aiba, and she sounded panicked.

The blood drained from his face. “What? What happened?!”

“I-I don’t know! The Psync finished, and now Date and #89 are both acting weird!”

“Did you go over the time limit?!”

“J-Just a little!”

_Shoot._

Pewter grit his teeth. “Why would you-?!” He cut himself off and hissed in frustration. “Don't move. I’ll be there immediately.”

He hung up, and she looked at him. “Crap, did they…?”

“I think so.”

She groaned. “Great. Great! Just what we needed right now.”

“I’ll meet you there.” He nodded and sprinted down the hall, not waiting for a response.

Even if he had waited, she didn’t have one. All she could think about was the last time Date and Rohan had swapped bodies.

She could only hope that this didn’t go the same way.

* * *

When she finally made her way to the Psync room, she found Kaname Date sprawled out on the floor, unconscious. Prisoner #89 lay near him, clutching his head. Aiba was perched on the Psync machine, her single eye darting between them as she frantically tried to explain the situation to Pewter.

“Do you have _any idea_ how compatible Date is with him?!” Pewter shouted. “Why didn’t you stop the Psync?!”

“[I-I tried! I really did! But Date… it was like he completely overwrote my consciousness! He _forced_ me to take another action! Nothing like that has ever happened before!]”

He spun around to glare furiously at #89. “Why did you do that?! You _know_ how dangerous it is to go over the limit! Now look at what you’ve done.”

#89 - no, Date - slowly raised his head. Her breath caught in her throat.

It was _him_.

He’d been with her for the last six years, of course. But this was different. He’d become someone else in Saito’s body, someone much better, someone who felt the same but so different. He wasn't Hayato anymore - that was the point - but sometimes, when she made reference to something she’d done with “a friend” once upon a time and there wasn’t even the faintest hint of recognition in his face, she would wonder if the consciousness she’d found wandering Golden Yokocho belonged to someone else.

Seeing him like this, in the body he’d discarded, she finally felt that _it was him._

“I...” He croaked. “I…”

Then he noticed her, and his face twisted into a snarl.

_“You.”_

She blinked. Her mouth opened slightly. The hatred in his eyes was like a kick to the stomach. 

_...Huh?_

And then she remembered. She looked like So.

He clenched his jaw, and everything in his expression turned to malice. “You… killed them…” 

She shook her head. “Wait, Date, I’m not-”

“ _You killed my daughter!_ ” 

He stumbled to his feet, lunging towards her with surprising speed. She stepped back to avoid him. But she had forgotten about her leg - So’s leg - and the moment her weight shifted a stabbing pain burst through her hip. She hissed sharply, and it buckled beneath her.

“Iris, Renju, Shoko, Ota… how _dare_ you…”

“Date!” Pewter stepped between the two of them. “This isn’t So!”

He grit his teeth. “What are you talking about?”

“I got put in the prototype Psync machine,” she choked out. She winced. She hated the voice that fell from her lips. Her voice. His voice. A voice that dripped with false promises. “It’s me. Boss. They stole my body.”

She saw a flicker of doubt, but he remained unwavering. “You… You expect me to believe that?!”

“It’s true!” She shouted.

“You have to remember now, don’t you?” Said Pewter. “The same thing happened to her that happened to you.”

She looked up at him. “You know that the Psync machine can exchange minds.”

He let out a breath. “I know. And I know the prototype is in the abandoned factory, where I picked you up. But-”

“It’s me, Date.”

He still didn’t look sure.

“Please, Date,” she said softly. “We’ve known each other for almost twenty years. Six years ago, I recognized you. Surely it’s been long enough that you can recognize me too.”

He looked back and forth between her and Pewter. Pewter nodded. Slowly, clenching and unclenching a fist, Date sighed, then stepped around Pewter and offered her a hand.

She took it gladly, and he helped her to her feet. “Thank you,” she said with a smile. “I didn’t even have to tell a dirty joke this time.”

He returned her smile. “Hah. It really is you.”

She rolled her eyes. “What, is that really the only way you can identify me?”

The corner of his mouth twitched in what she knew was a snarky _maybe_. Fortunately for him, Pewter responded first. “No. It’s just a level So would never stoop to.”

“That’s fair.” She took a deep breath, and looked at the two of them. “Anyways, we need to catch this killer before they move to the next person. They’ve been running around in my body for almost six and a half hours now.”

“[Excuse me.]” Aiba spoke up. “[Will someone please explain what is going on?]”

She and Pewter explained what they’d figured out about the chain as quickly as they could. Aiba still seemed bewildered, but Date understood, and that was good enough for her.

“[The Psync machine can be used to swap bodies?]”

“Yes. Now, where is Boss’s GPS?” Date asked, not sparing any time.

“[I…]” A tense few seconds passed, and then she spoke again. “[She is currently… at the Sagan residence.]”

Date’s eyes widened. “Hitomi.”

It had to be her.

_Just like before..._

“No…” He grit his teeth. “No, not again!”

Date let out a hiss and scooped Aiba up in his hand, then bent down to grab his Evolver from his unconscious body.

“[Wha-]”

“Date, wait!” She yelped.

He spun around. “We’re out of time, Boss! I won’t let this happen again!”

“I know. Aiba, bring his car to the west door.”

The eyeball nodded. He looked confused. 

She smirked at him. “You’re still cuffed. And in a prison uniform.”

He looked down at himself and sputtered.

“It’s fine. We have spare uniforms and a key that can undo those. It won’t take long.”

Pewter quickly retrieved them, and it seemed like Date had just finished throwing the pants and jacket on over the jumpsuit when Aiba notified them she was ready. He bolted to the door.

“I’ve notified the special forces unit. We’ll be right behind him,” Pewter said. She nodded, and he ran off after him.

The door slammed shut, and she was left alone with Date’s - well, now it was Rohan’s - still unconscious body. With So’s body and her leg in the state it was, there wasn’t much she could do about him. After a moment of thought, she took #89’s handcuffs, cuffed him to the Psync machine, and headed to her office.

* * *

Aiba stood on Date’s shoulder as he drove, her video feed appearing live on the computer screen. Shizue watched it intensely.

“[The Boss’s GPS is still at the Sagan residence,]” said Aiba. “[I think we’ll be okay.]”

The three of them said nothing, only held their breaths. In the corner of the video, she saw Date give a small nod.

That fateful night had to be running through all three of their minds. If they’d just been a bit faster… kept a closer eye on Rohan…

_Please, don’t let this become a repeat of six years ago._

There wasn’t much she could do other than watch the scenery pass by. They still had at least ten minutes before they arrived - ten minutes where they could do nothing but hope. It would only take a single moment to claim the next victim, but they had a chance, and they would have to depend on it.

_If I hadn’t woken up when I did, they wouldn’t have had a clue anything was wrong. Hitomi would probably already be..._

The thought sent a chill down her spine.

Thankfully, Date sped down the road unobstructed. It was late enough that there wasn’t too much traffic.

They came to an intersection, but Date hardly slowed down at all as he turned, nearly clipping the car in the next lane. She sighed and glanced at it apologetically out of habit.

Her first thought was _hey, that’s the same model as my car._

Then she saw the license plate, and her second thought was _hey, that_ is _my car!_

“Wait, Date, stop!” She yelled.

“What? Why?!”

“That car you almost hit was my car!”

“[What?!]”

Date pulled over to the side of the road, tires screeching as he came to a halt. “Aiba, is that true?!”

An image from the footage taken seconds before appeared on the screen. It didn’t show the license plate, but the person in the driver’s seat was visible. 

It was her body.

“[That’s Boss! The facial recognition matches!]” Aiba shouted quickly. “[They must have left her phone at Hitomi’s house to mislead us!]”

Pewter’s voice came over the line. “You chase after them, I’ll inform the others! We’ll keep heading to the Sagan residence just in case!”

“All right. Thanks.” Date grit his teeth and turned the car around. “Aiba, where did they go?”

“[I didn’t see, but they were in the through lane, so probably-]”

“Probably?! I need more than a ‘probably’!”

“[Just do it!]”

He hissed, but took her advice without any further hesitation. 

Sure enough, after a minute, they saw another car in the distance. Date slowed down. “Aiba, zoom in on that car.”

Her heart pounded in her chest. _Come on, come on…_

The camera zoomed in, and she could just make out the license plate.

It matched.

She let out a tense sigh of relief. “That’s them. We’ve got them.”

“Where are you?” Asked Pewter.

Date glanced around. “Uhh-”

Aiba saved him. “[Don’t worry. I will send you the location.]”

“Okay. In the meantime, don’t get hasty, Date. We can’t let them know we’re following.”

“Yeah. I know, I know,” he muttered.

“Just stay calm,” she reminded him. “Everything will be fine.”

He said nothing, just tightened his grip on the wheel.

* * *

She got a sinking feeling in her stomach as they tailed her car. She knew the road they took like the back of her hand, and her car seemed to take it with the same familiarity.

It made her sick.

Some part of her begged for them to pass by, another told her it was best to fight on familiar ground. Either way, when the car took what she knew was its final turn, a whirlwind of emotions rose to the surface.

And there it was, just a little ways ahead.

“Date, slow down. They’re going to stop soon,” she muttered.

“Huh? How do you know?”

“Because this is my house.”

He didn’t need any more convincing. He turned off the headlights and slowed to a crawl, and when her car started to turn into her driveway soon after, he was in little danger of being seen. He pulled over to the curb and parked.

They got out, and he set Aiba on the roof of the car so she could see. “Aiba, are they still in the car?”

The camera zoomed in. Shizue squinted, but as far as she could see, there was no one in the window.

“[No living organisms detected,]” Aiba confirmed. “[The car appears to be empty.]”

“Did they go inside?”

“[Unknown.]”

She instinctively reached up to fiddle with her hair, but her fingers found only empty space. She put her hand down and pressed her lips together. “They must have. I don’t know where else they would have-”

At that moment the door to her house opened, and her body walked out. She sighed. “Speak of the devil.”

In the dark it was difficult to tell what was going on, but thankfully Aiba switched the video to night vision mode without being asked. Shizue peered closer at the screen. Her body opened the trunk of her car and pulled out something in a plastic bag.

“Aiba, what are they doing?” Date asked.

“[They appear to be taking groceries into the house.]”

“Groceries?”

“[Yes. Something in a grocery bag, anyways.]”

“Can you-”

“[Shh, I’m looking.]”

They all fell silent for a moment. And then-

“[Explosives.]” 

Something tightened in her chest, and for a moment, she could hardly breathe. 

“Oh god,” Pewter murmured. “Are they going to…?”

“Hitomi,” Date whispered. “She has to be in there.”

She forced herself to exhale. “There’s still time. We can still stop them. Pewter, how-”

“They’re heading there now, Boss. I'm on my way too.”

She nodded, and smiled thinly. He trusted her now, despite the body she was in. But she didn’t have time to savor it. Her body turned its back to them, and Date bolted, leaving Aiba behind. She huffed and leapt after him. 

Her body heard his footsteps. It flashed that same irritating smirk as before and sprinted inside. Date followed, close on their heels. Aiba scrambled to get within earshot.

The first thing she heard was her voice.

“Rohan, I’m hurt. I know you always hated me, but we were partners. Selling me out like this is low, even for you.”

_Partners?_

... _Saito._

Of course. Why hadn’t she realized it sooner? Date had said the prototype was in the abandoned factory. She’d always thought it odd that Saito had suddenly committed suicide, but if he had swapped with someone and forced them to jump, it all made sense. All the pieces fit perfectly.

Date must have figured it out too. “You,” he spat.

There was a long moment of silence. “...Oh, I see. You’re not Rohan.”

“Saito Sejima.”

“Hello, _Date_.”

Aiba ran through the front door, and there they were, standing in her living room, Hitomi lying unconscious on her couch. Date had drawn his gun, and her body - Saito - held one as well. A stalemate.

Except instead of being pointed at him, Saito’s gun - _her_ gun - was pressed to Hitomi's temple.

One wrong move, and she would die. Shizue muted herself. They couldn’t afford to draw _any_ attention.

Date grit his teeth. “Get away from her.”

“I didn’t think you’d catch me this early. Impressive work, truly. I had hoped to have more time before you found out.” Saito tipped her body’s head. “But that’s okay. After all… you _do_ remember, don’t you?”

Date stepped forward. Saito gripped her gun tighter.

“Ah-ah. One more step and this woman dies.”

Date took a shaky breath, and his finger moved to the trigger.

“Oh? Do you want to kill me?” Saito grinned. “Then do it. Go ahead, shoot me.”

Date didn’t move.

“Oh, that’s right. You _can’t_. Because this is your friend’s body, isn’t it? And she wants it back. Too bad.” Saito rolled her eyes. “She’s quite attached to this body, you know. I can feel it. But she trusts you more than anyone else. I wonder… if she were to be trapped in my father’s body forever, would she forgive you?”

“What do you want, Saito?” He snapped.

“What? Don’t you already know?!” Saito snarled. “I want you to _suffer_ . The way you made _me_ suffer. Do you have _any idea_ what it was like inside my own head? And you just stole it from me. You stole _everything_ from me.”

“I didn’t steal it from you. You’re the one who initiated the swap.” Date’s words were more measured now.

“And you’re the one who ran away with it!” Saito pressed the gun to Hitomi’s head more forcefully. Date inhaled sharply.

This was getting nowhere. He was trapped. If he lunged at Saito, he would die. If he shot Saito, her body would die. If he waited it out, Hitomi would die. Saito had him cornered and they both knew it. Nothing he did would fix this situation.

But Saito hadn’t noticed Aiba yet. 

...She had an idea. It was a long shot, for sure - could Aiba even open drawers? - but maybe, just maybe…

_Difficult, but not impossible. And at a time like this, what other choice did she have?_

“Do you really think you’re any better than me? You’ve killed far more than I ever have.” Saito sneered. “You’re _far_ from innocent, _Falco_.”

“Don’t call me that,” Date spat.

She pulled up NILE and sent a message.

_Aiba. There should be a taser in the drawer of the table to your left. Can you reach it?_

Aiba didn’t respond verbally, but she must have received the message, because the video feed shifted up and to the left, focusing on the drawer in question.

“Why shouldn’t I? That’s who you are, isn’t it? Losing your memories doesn’t mean you can escape your past.”

_I doubt it. However, I am able to act as a taser myself._

_Can you still shock someone from outside their eye socket?_

“You killed countless people. _Innocent_ people. Even for those who weren’t, murder is still murder.”

_Certainly. It won’t be as potent, but it should still work._

“You’re one to talk.”

“You deserve _so much worse._ All those people you killed had families too, you know. All this pain? Imagine it times fifty. That’s what _you’ve_ inflicted on others.”

_Could you hop up onto my body and shock it?_

“Shut up.”

_Yes._

_Do it._

_Very well. But in order to do so, I need to hang up._

“What, you think your killings were any more justified than mine?! Because you did it for ‘justice’ and ‘under contract’ instead of for the thrill of it?! Am I really worse than you because this is the only way I can feel what you’d call love?! Because I was born this way?! You ‘loved’ this woman too, yet you were still the one who crippled her!”

_Okay. I trust you, Aiba. Call me back when it’s over._

“Shut _up_!”

_I will._

“And you’d really say that’s not you? That you’re not the one who killed all those people? That you’re not the one who stole my happiness from me? Coward.”

_I know you can do it._

Saito laughed. “Oh, but don’t worry. I’m merciful. Death is _release_ compared to what you deserve. I’ll even make it-”

Aiba hung up before he could finish his sentence. Shizue took a deep breath. All she could do now was wait.

_Please, please let this work…_

Her heart hammered in her chest. The seconds seemed to take an eternity to tick by. 

One. Two. Three.

She realized that for once her beloved chair was uncomfortable. So’s body was too wide for it. It didn’t settle in it the way she should have.

Ten.

The wait was unbearable.

_Please…_

And then it ended. A ringing sound came from her computer.

_Incoming call from Kaname Date/Aiba._

She’d never clicked something so fast in her life.

When the call went through, the first thing she saw was her body, sprawled out unconscious on the floor.

“Did…” She murmured. “Did it work?”

The voice she knew she never should have heard again but which she had missed so dearly answered.

“Yeah.”

Aiba turned towards him. He held Hitomi in his arms, checking her over for any injuries. Aside from a small bruise where Saito had held the gun to her head, there were none. Relief was plastered all over his face. 

“We did it.” She let out a breath. “We… we really did it. We saved her. And we caught the Cyclops Killer too.”

“...Yeah.” He shut his eyes and put a hand on Hitomi’s right shoulder. “We finally caught him.”

It was clear he was glad it was all over, but she couldn’t help but notice the hollowness that crept into his voice.

* * *

An hour later, Hitomi and Saito still hadn't woken up. She was almost glad about Hitomi. The poor woman had been through so much. She deserved a rest. Not only that, but there was so much they needed to tell her. Knowing Date, this wouldn’t be the last time they met, either. He’d always been kind; she’d always liked that about him. She wouldn’t trade it for anything. But the thought of having to explain that no, _she_ wasn’t the killer, it was someone else, she had been knocked out and kidnapped by someone who looked exactly like her for… _reasons_ without revealing the Psync machine could swap bodies made her head spin.

Saito, on the other hand… every moment he stayed asleep was another moment he wasn’t doing something horrific in her body. Not that he could do much at the moment, being locked in the solitary confinement cell where he’d had her put earlier that day. As much as she wanted her body back, though, they would need to interrogate him first.

And before any of that, they needed to get Rohan back to Fuchu. It was a miracle nothing had gone wrong with him too. As soon as he and Date swapped back, he would return and no one would know that anything more than an interrogation and Psync had happened.

She was really looking forward to that moment. Not just because it would be getting him off her hands, and one step closer to getting her body back, but because said interrogation was going terribly.

"I’ll ask you again. How did you know that Shoko was Saito?"

The corner of Rohan's mouth twitched, but otherwise he didn't respond.

Pewter sighed. "Give it up, Boss. He's not going to talk."

"You just have to make things difficult for us until the very end, huh?" She muttered.

Rohan smirked. She’d seen Date make that face before, but when Rohan did it in his body, it was so much more annoying. "I've told you already. Start the release procedures, and I'll tell you everything."

"Yeah, there's no way in hell we're doing that."

"Then I won't tell you anything. Simple as that."

She sighed. "You know we're going to find out either way, right? You're just making things harder for yourself."

Again, he didn't respond, and this time the smirk didn't leave either.

Pewter glanced at his watch. "There's only fifteen minutes left before the machine should be ready again. Let's go."

She glared at Rohan for a few more seconds, but he remained unwavering. Finally, she tore her gaze from him with a snort. “Fine. I don’t feel good about using Aiba for this, but we don’t have a choice.”

“You don’t have a choice?” He chuckled. “You always have a choice. You can choose to violate my privacy, or-”

“Don’t give me that. You know full well you gave up your right to privacy a long time ago.”

“Does the same hold true for Date? It’s only fair that way.”

She chose to ignore that. “Come on. We’re going.”

When she and Pewter grabbed his wrists and led him out of the room, he gave no resistance. She wasn’t sure if that was more or less frustrating than the alternative.

Rohan laughed to himself, as if he suddenly found something very amusing. “You know, that body suits you. You really do remind me of him. Blackmail, exposures, coverups… It’s a shame. If things had gone differently, we could have made great business partners.”

Her mouth twitched. “Your ability to get under people’s skin really is impressive, you know that?”

If he had another irritating response, he didn’t bother with it. They opened the door to the Psync control room, and he grinned, his gaze having fallen onto a much better target.

“It’s been a long time, Falco. How have you been? It’s so good to see you again.”

Date’s eyes narrowed, but otherwise he stayed silent. Pewter shook his head. “Don’t bother with him, Date.”

“Yeah, I know.” Date’s voice was low and measured. He glanced at Aiba. “You know what you have to do.”

“[Of course.]”

He picked her up off the table, and her limbs sucked back into her. The sneer never left Rohan’s face, but she relished the brief terror that flashed in his eye at the sight. Date placed her into his vacant eye socket. Rohan blinked. Aiba’s iris shrank to meet the size of his other without a problem.

She sighed. “Okay, well, if you two can take care of this, I’ll go get the sleeping gas.”

They nodded. Any trace of the distrust they’d had mere hours before was long gone. Aside from her and Date being in the wrong bodies (or was it the _right_ body, in Date’s case?), it almost felt normal.

_I wonder… if I was stuck in this body forever, would anything really change?_

She glanced at Date. Her friend, finally back in the body that belonged to him - and yet that was no longer his at all.

_“I is another.”_

The thought sent a chill down her spine. She shivered, and limped over to the locker where they kept the sleeping gas.

* * *

Rohan’s spiting didn’t improve any after he was put to sleep. In fact, it only seemed to get worse.

“Five minutes left.”

Date nodded. In the Somnium, he was already back in Saito’s body. He stood over the corpse of a pink-haired woman, stab wounds littered across her back. Something constricted in her chest when she looked at her. “Hey, who is this?” He asked. “She doesn’t look like one of the victims of the original killings.”

“I don’t know,” said Pewter. “But a dead woman… maybe she was the one he took his first eye from.”

Date hesitated. “She looks like…”

“Iris,” she breathed. 

He was silent, and looked down at the woman with a pained expression. Her face was frozen in a half-smile, soft and yet so utterly betrayed. Suddenly her heart was racing. Something was so close, just barely out of reach-

“Hey, Date, can you look at her a little closer? I think So knows something about her.”

He grimaced, but knelt down beside her anyways. “She looks young. Probably in her teens or early twenties. It looks like she was stabbed with something like a knife.”

_Stabbed… stabbed…_

There was something there, something clear and familiar, something important, but she couldn’t place it. She stared at the woman intensely.

“And… oh.” He went quiet.

“What is it?”

“...She’s pregnant.”

_Pregnant…_

Pewter let out a small breath. “What a sick-”

“Pewter, give me a sec.” She put a hand out to silence him and squeezed her eyes shut.

_Pregnant… pregnant… stabbed… teenager…_

_Knife… stabbed… pregnant…_

_..._

_...Manaka…?_

_…!_

And then she saw it.

_Saito’s knife plunging into her back again and again, her life extinguished, just like that._

Her _, the gorgeous, the naïve, the unfortunate, the vulnerable;_ her _who there were feelings there for even though it was so forbidden… the_ her _he would fight to keep for himself no matter how much evil it took… the_ her _who nearly ruined him…_

The memories came flooding into her mind, unstoppable. Of a girl who’d been foolish and irresistibly tempting, who’d been caught and kept and led to destruction.

_A siren I convinced to stay._

_Manaka…_

Her mouth curled into a snarl, and her eyes snapped open. “That disgusting bastard,” she spat, once more acutely aware that the voice that fell from the mouth she controlled was So’s. That her entire body was So’s. A man who’d done nothing but lie and cheat and manipulate, breaking whatever laws he saw fit and then holding the rest of the nation to the rules he willingly ignored. A man who’d done whatever it took for his own benefit, his own pleasure, his own twisted wants and desires.

_You really do remind me of him._

She grit her teeth, So’s teeth, and shook her head. She had to get out of his body as soon as she could. The idea of any more of his personality encroaching on her was repulsive.

“You okay, Boss?” Came Date’s voice.

She didn’t feel like answering that. “Her name’s… Manaka. Manaka Iwai. She was So’s…” She shuddered. “It’s not right to call her a _mistress_. She was prey to him. Saito killed her.”

“Manaka Iwai… I see. I get it.” He shook his head. “I remember now. When I was in Rohan’s body, Saito mentioned they first met after he killed Manaka.”

“So she’s-”

“-Definitely the first woman Rohan took an eye from.” He glanced away. “So to progress the Psync, I have to…”

His gaze trailed back down to the body, and he swallowed. “Ugh.”

“That seems to be our best bet. I’m sorry, Date. Try to remember it’s only a dream,” Pewter advised.

“I know. But here it feels so real.” He turned the body over and stared at her right eye. His hand balled into a fist.

“It’s okay, Date. It’ll all be fine. Soon this will all be over.”

He took a shuddering breath. “I’m sorry, Manaka.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, and his fingers found her right eye. They slipped easily into the socket. He flinched at the sensation, and, gritting his teeth, gripped the eyeball and pulled as hard as he could.

A gory mass of blood and nerves came out with it, and the moment he saw he ripped them away from the eye with all his might. It dissolved into dirt in his hand, though his glove was still stained with blood. A moment later Manaka’s body did the same, and there came a familiar shift in the tone of the Somnium, a sound like chains releasing.

_Mental Lock #1: Buried her._

Date shook uncontrollably. His face was pale. His breaths came short and shallow, and he gasped for air. He put his clean hand on his chest and forced himself to breathe deeply. After a few seconds, the symptoms seemed to subside, and he took a long breath. “Boss,” he muttered. “How much longer in here?”

She glanced at the timer. “Just under four minutes until the transfer starts.”

“Ugh.” He grimaced. “I guess I’ll have to solve this either way.”

“One down, three to go.”

“...Yeah.”

A gust of wind blew through, and the dirt on his glove and at his feet was carried away. Part of the ground in front of him blew away too, revealing a wide, deep hole. He peered into it. There was no bottom, only a void of black. He shook his head and steeled himself, then leapt in.

Time seemed to slow as he fell. Three seconds… five… and then his feet hit solid ground. When he stood and looked around, he was met with familiar scenery.

“Is this the chemical plant?” He asked.

It very much looked like it, but instead of having random objects scattered around, there was machinery everywhere. She nodded. “It looks like it is, but from before it was abandoned.”

“Why would this be in his dream?” He muttered. “I know he used this place after it was abandoned, but why would he picture it like this?”

She thought for a moment. “Maybe he had a hand in blowing it up?”

The moment the words came out of her mouth, she knew it was true. Date nodded. “Maybe. I heard it was So who caused the explosion, but he’s not the type to get his own hands dirty. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he had the Kumakuras do it for him.”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what happened.”

“Do you remember that, too?”

She shook her head. “Not exactly. But given the circumstances I think that’s pretty likely, and it… _feels_ right.”

“Got it. So I need to blow this place up.” He glanced around. “Pewter, any idea how to make industrial equipment explode?”

Pewter seemed taken aback. “Uh, no? I’m an engineer, not a part of the bomb squad. Besides, this is a dream. This is your field of expertise. You can probably figure it out faster than I could.”

“Hmm. All right.”

He weaved his way between the machinery, examining the environment. He covered the entire length of the room, but found nothing, until-

“Oh, maybe that?”

In the very back of the room, on a pipe half-hidden behind some equipment, was a valve. He approached it, and, after looking it over, turned it to the left.

A hissing noise filled the room, and then a shockwave tore through the air. Equipment exploded around him. Date ducked and covered his head with his hands. 

When the commotion quieted down, he stood and dusted himself off. The environment had completely changed to resemble what it currently looked like in reality, with oil drums, crates, and other junk littered about. 

There was the sudden sound of coughing behind him, and he spun around. A familiar figure with unruly black hair and a gray suit had appeared behind him, tied to a chair. His identity was unmistakable.

Date grimaced. “That’s… me.”

“Do you know what’s going on here?” She asked.

“Yeah,” he muttered darkly. “This is where he forced me into working for him.”

Hayato Yagyu had gone silent, and his gaze was fixed on the ground. He didn’t seem to be moving at all, in fact. After coughing, he had frozen in place entirely.

Date could only stare at him - a figure of himself, and yet he stood before it in a completely different body. After a long moment he knelt down and began to untie the man he no longer was. He removed the ropes and cast them aside.

“You’re free to go,” he said.

Hayato looked up at him, wide-eyed and disbelieving. “Go,” Date repeated. “I won't keep you here any longer. Go and never kill again.”

Hayato bowed his head once more, and the ropes returned to his wrists. Date sighed and glanced away. Then his eyes narrowed, and he spoke in a much lower voice. “How about you work for us? Of course, you have the right to say ‘no.’ But it’ll be the last word out of your mouth.”

This time, the eyes his former self looked at him with were horrified. But when their gazes met, a chain came undone, and another shift in the dream loomed before them.

_Mental Lock #2: Bound him._

The image of Hayato, and the factory around him, melted away. Where he had been sitting there was now only a single door.

The door to the Sagan residence.

Date grit his teeth. Pewter inhaled softly. A heavy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.

They all knew what came next. And he would have to reenact it.

“...Two and a half minutes left, Date. Just get through it.”

He took a deep breath and nodded, clenching and unclenching his fist. A few seconds later, he reached out and opened the door.

And there she was.

Her face lit up when she saw him, and she beckoned him inside. He swallowed thickly. “Hitomi,” he whispered. “You have to get away.”

But she gave no indication she’d heard his words. He let out a breath and tried again. “You have to get out of here. Please.”

When she still didn’t respond, he reached out to her, but a moment after he touched her arm he pulled his hand back. She hadn’t moved in the slightest. He glanced at the ground for a long moment before entering.

She smiled at him and turned away, going into the kitchen to pour some tea for them. He followed close behind her, always keeping his body between her and the door. She set the tea down and froze in place again. He held his breath, waiting for what he knew had to be coming. 

But it never did.

The seconds ticked by, and the door never burst open. The bullets never came.

He sighed, squeezed his eyes shut, and stepped aside, leaving her exposed, but still nothing happened. The world had gone still and silent, as if he were the only living thing there.

Eventually his eyes snapped open again. “Where is he?” Date muttered. He crossed the room and tried to yank open the door, but it only rattled slightly against the doorframe, and the knob refused to turn. He pulled the curtain on the door aside instead, but there was nothing. Only the porch leading up to the entrance, and then darkness.

“What the hell?” He spat. “What the hell am I supposed to do?”

She tried to remember that fateful night. “Rohan had his gun out when you got there, right? Maybe you have to do the same.”

His mouth curled into a snarl, but he returned to the other side of the room and pulled out his Evolver anyways. Grimacing, he pointed it at Hitomi. She turned towards him slightly and gasped, then froze again.

And still, the door never opened.

Pulling out the gun had made some progress, clearly. But that was where it should have ended - that was when she and Date should have burst in, too late to prevent her from being injured but just in time to stop her from being killed. So what was left to do?

He figured it out before she did. His eyes widened, and the blood drained from his face. His hands shook. “N-No…”

“What is it?” Pewter asked.

“This was in our earlier Psync too. Right after, when we swapped, I could feel his thoughts about it. He was _proud_ of it. He felt like his plan succeeded. In his mind, he got exactly what he wanted.” He snarled. “Pewter, is there any way to swap without completing the Psync?”

“Ah, no.” Pewter shook his head. “I could forcibly disconnect you, but if we do that too soon you could lose your memories again. I can’t take that risk.”

“Then wait until everything’s transferred over. I don’t care how long it takes. I’ll stay here for ten or fifteen or thirty more minutes, and then you can disconnect me.”

Pewter blinked. “But we’ve never tried that before. We don’t know what’ll happen.”

“Then use this as an opportunity to find out. Experiment with my mind.”

Pewter hesitated. He glanced down and began to flip through a binder. “I… that’ll probably work, but-”

“Since when were you concerned about the risks?” Date snapped. He clenched his fist, then released it, and sighed. “If you think it _should_ work, that’s good enough for me. You made this thing. I trust your judgement.”

She and Pewter looked at each other. They didn’t have time to deal with more complications, and going on with the Psync might give them useful information, but if the scenes he was forced to witness were this painful, and he was already this desperate…

“Please,” he said softly. “I refuse to complete this Somnium. I won’t let myself shoot her again.”

Oh.

Pewter opened his mouth, but said nothing, and looked to her instead. After a long few moments, she nodded.

“...Okay.”

He sighed. “Thank you.”

His face fell, and suddenly he looked much older than he was; tired and worn, ready for this endeavor to be over. A pang of something - pity? Sympathy? She wasn’t entirely sure - resonated in her.

“It usually takes about ten minutes for the transfer to complete, so we’ll go with twelve to be safe,” said Pewter. “Theoretically, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. You two have been in those bodies for six years, so you’re both more than compatible with them. It’ll probably only take half that long, but… just to make sure.”

“That’s fine.” Date shut his eyes. “How long until the transfer starts?”

She glanced down at the timer. “Thirty seconds.”

“All right. Twelve and a half minutes. I can do that.”

And he did, but it was long. No matter how many seconds passed, time never moved forwards. He pulled out a chair next to Hitomi, and, with a somber expression, bringing it around to face her, whispered things too quiet for anyone else to hear.

She never responded to his words. She stood, still and silent, her face permanently locked in an expression of alarm. Every time he looked up at her, he seemed to grow more and more disheartened, but he kept on talking.

A few days before, after seeing him looking at the broken clock beside her desk, she’d playfully asked what he would do if he could stop time, and he’d given her a smirk she knew meant “a whole lot of things.” Now, it was clear that a world that never progressed was the loneliest world of all.

“It’s time.”

Twelve and a half minutes passed, and he put the chair back where he’d found it. He looked at Hitomi one more time with an expression she couldn’t read, then slowly nodded.

Pewter shut down the Psync, and for the first time in nearly six years, Date left a Somnium incomplete.

A minute later, she headed down to meet them, and they began to stir. Date, or at least who she hoped was Date, groggily lifted his head, then sat up, and looked down at himself - his black coat, his purple gloves, his cuffed wrists.

“Hey,” she said. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” He paused for a moment, then let out a breath. “Yeah, Aiba. It’s me.”

That was a good sign. A weight left her, but she stayed careful. “What happened in the dream?”

He looked at her, pained. “Are you really going to make me talk about it?”

“The subject doesn’t remember their own Somnium.”

Slowly, he shook his head. “Boss, we’ve known each other for nearly twenty years. Six years ago, when I was first put in this body, you recognized me. Surely it’s been long enough that you can recognize me now.”

Her own words stung, and she felt a twinge of guilt. She’d made it sound so simple, as if trusting her should have been the easiest thing in the world. As if trusting her _now_ , even though she had somewhat earned it, was easy. It was anything but. But he’d still done it.

And that grief… that kindness and sorrow in his eyes… it was him.

“...Yeah,” she murmured. The word stuck in her throat.

She took out the key to his handcuffs, and he held out his arms. She unlocked them and they fell to the ground with a clatter.

A low chuckle came from behind her, and she turned towards it. Rohan - she saw it unmistakably, now - was back in #89’s body, and back to smirking. “Oh? Did what you saw upset you that much? It sounds like this wasn’t even worth it.”

The corner of Date’s mouth twitched. His eyes narrowed, and he went silent for a bit - probably talking to Aiba, if she had to guess. Then he turned towards her.

“Boss,” he said slowly, his voice low so only she could hear it. “Permission to punch him in the face?”

Ah. There was no doubt. It was him. She smiled. “Normally I’d say no, but seeing as it’s Rohan… I’ll allow it.”

There was a glint in his eye. “Only once, though,” she added. “So make it a good one.”

He turned back to him without another word. Rohan smirked up at him. Date sighed.

Then, as hard as he could, drove his fist straight into Rohan’s jaw.

After such a long day, hearing the yelp he let out was immensely satisfying.

* * *

“Ahh.” Shizue leaned back in her chair and sighed contentedly. “I’ve never been so glad to have this body.”

She ran a hand over her thigh - her bare thigh, not hidden under thick layers of cloth, not bound by bandages, not aching from a nasty day-old wound. Her clothes were finally right again. She took up the right amount of space again. She _felt_ the same way again - all the right parts were there, and there were none that didn’t belong.

Finally, finally, she was _home_.

Saito’s Somnium had been far less aggravating than Rohan’s, surprisingly. Unlike his former partner, who had taunted them even in sleep, Saito had shown them exactly what they needed to see. His mind had conjured the abandoned chemical plant, and his murders and attempted murders had played out behind a series of doors, at first showing only vague, shadowy figures but culminating in the exact details of who killed who. Renju, Iris, So, then her - it had confirmed without a doubt that he was swapping bodies, just as they had suspected, and was the New Cyclops Serial Killer. Or, more simply, just the Cyclops Killer. There was no need to differentiate anymore, after all. After a relatively quick and, compared to Rohan’s, painless interrogation, they had confirmed everything.

Currently, he was sitting in the solitary confinement cell again, this time stuck in the body of the father he so detested. In just a few more, he’d be taken to prison. Whether that was Fuchu or somewhere else, she wasn't sure, but she almost hoped it was just for irony’s sake. Saito and Rohan, trapped forever in the bodies of their worst enemies. It was a fitting punishment for the atrocities they’d committed.

After six years, the Cyclops Killers were finally both where they deserved to be. 

She glanced at Date and Pewter, who were sitting in their usual spots. They met her eyes, and she grinned. “No offense to you guys, but I never want to be a man again. This is so much better.”

They looked away. Pewter responded with only a small nod.

She blinked. All their enthusiasm from earlier was gone. Their determination to solve the case had vanished, and they looked drained.

Oh, right. Though she hadn't been in it at the time, her body had been asleep for several hours. They had been working the entire time. They had to be exhausted.

“It’s thanks to you two that we solved this case. You worked hard. If you weren’t here, we never would have figured this out, and I’d have been another victim.” She tapped her fingers against her chin. “I’ll tell you what. Next time we go out drinking, I’ll pay for everything. You deserve at least that much for saving my life.”

Pewter sighed. “...Thanks, Boss. Maybe later.”

She nodded. “Yeah, of course. Get some rest.”

He opened his mouth to say something else, but then decided against it and shook his head. “...Excuse me. I’m going to step out now. There are… things I have to prepare for.”

Nope. No way was she letting him do any more work. She raised an eyebrow. “Hmm? Like what?”

He turned to her, and his gaze stung. “A funeral.”

Everything she had in mind to say to him disappeared. She inhaled sharply, and her gaze trailed down to the ground. Slowly, she nodded. “I see. I’m sorry.”

He swallowed, and his breath hitched. He dipped his head and awkwardly left.

That left only her and Date, sitting in silence. After a few seconds he stood as well. “I should go too. I need to talk to Hitomi. I… I promised her I would catch the one responsible for this.” 

He glanced down. The _and_ never came, but she could feel it behind every word.

“Mizuki needs someone too,” she added. 

“Yeah.” He took a small breath, then headed for the door.

“Hey, Date?”

“Huh?”

She nodded. “Try not to be too hard on yourself, okay?”

His face fell, and he looked at the floor. After a moment, he gave her a thin, sad smile, and left without saying another word.

She was alone again, and everything felt so much drearier.

It was all over. Everything from both six years ago and the past few days was all over. 

Yet it had come at such a cost.

Hitomi had lost her daughter, her former student, and her friend. Mizuki had lost both of her parents, and two of her good friends. Pewter… she didn’t know which of the victims he’d known, but clearly he was close to at least one of them.

And Date…

He had gotten his memories back, but at a steep price. He’d lost not just a friend, but a daughter too. He remembered Hitomi, Iris, her, and all the crimes he committed. More than anyone else, he had to deal with the aftermath. He was the only one left for Mizuki, and he would try to be there for Hitomi too. He was the one at the center of everything. He was the reason Saito went after them and took those they loved away. He’d spend the rest of his life saddled by that guilt, even though it wasn’t his fault.

For her, it was just another case. A crazy, bloody, twisted case, but something she would move on from. In fact, it would probably result in a positive change for her. All of the Cyclops Killings were resolved, and So could no longer interfere with their investigations. A six-year weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

But for him, and for Hitomi and Mizuki and maybe even Pewter, nothing would ever be the same again. They’d lost people they loved. A huge part of their lives was suddenly… gone. Just like that.

If Saito hadn't gotten his hands on the prototype Psync machine… would any of this have happened? He wouldn’t have swapped bodies with Shoko, and then he probably wouldn’t have been able to meet with Renju. If he hadn’t swapped with Renju, he couldn't have gotten Iris and Ota. The only one he could have gotten was So. 

No, it was even simpler than that. If he hadn’t had the prototype, he wouldn’t have swapped with Date. He wouldn’t have wanted revenge. He wouldn’t have had any reason to kill anyone except So in the first place. 

She was the one who had told Date to swap with Rohan, and to go interrogate Saito alone. If she’d been more careful, or come up with something else, Saito never would have captured Date. He never would have learned about the Psync machine or body swapping, and none of these murders would have happened.

Then… in a way, it was her fault they had all died. She’d been so desperate to protect her friend that she had gone with the first idea she’d come up with and revealed the one thing she was told never to tell anyone. It had been a terrible plan in the first place, and she’d always justified it to herself by saying it was what allowed them to catch the Cyclops Killer. But now, five people were dead because of it, and two people she deeply cared about were left devastated.

She glanced down and ran her hand over her thigh again. Just one day in So’s body had been living hell. Even now, back in her own body, the memories of his she’d seen there felt like her own. Her entire sense of identity had been undermined. Yet she’d thrown body swapping around so casually.

Had Date gotten that? When he swapped into Rohan, had he felt the man’s mindset? Had he recalled things he’d never done, but that _felt_ like his own actions? Had he, in the short amount of time he’d been there, seen some of Rohan’s worst moments and grown to hate him even more?

If she had only been in So’s body for a few hours… after a few days, how much had _he_ been disconnected from and repulsed by the body she’d suggested he stay in _forever?_

Just thinking about it made her stomach churn. She’d been so stupid and impulsive and selfish. So consumed with protecting him and eliminating the threat of the Kumakuras and bringing the Cyclops Killer to justice that she hadn’t stopped to think of just how badly things could go. At the time, she’d seen it as a win-win: save Date, get rid of Rohan, catch Saito. Now, because of her “great” plan, one of the two people Date had begged her to protect no matter what was crippled for life, and the other was dead.

_Blackmail, exposures, coverups… It’s a shame. If things had gone differently, we could have made great business partners._

Maybe Rohan was right. Maybe she was like So. They had both bent the law countless times for their own benefit. They had both covered up the crimes of those close to them, and had used illegal methods to achieve their goals. The only things that differed were those goals themselves.

If she’d gone down a different path, and had different experiences… maybe she _would_ have turned out exactly the same as the man she had seen as one of her worst enemies.

She shut her eyes and sighed. There was no point in dwelling on the past. What was done was done. Life only moved in one direction. There was no taking things back. She’d made mistakes, but there was no way to undo them. She could only deal with the consequences.

Her actions had led to this. She’d spent long enough avoiding that. But the blame for their deaths lay entirely with Saito. She couldn’t pretend she was completely innocent, but she couldn’t tell herself they were dead because of her either. She’d take responsibility for her actions, but accept what was out of her control.

And, going forward, she could change. Take what she’d learned and use that to improve. To make sure she never did become like So Sejima.

The first step to that was cleaning up what she’d left behind.

She stood. Just like Date and Pewter, she had a funeral to prepare for. Or, more accurately, five of them. 

Maybe that was the least she could do. Maybe, in the future, she’d have to deal more directly with the pain she’d caused them. But that could come later.

For now, it was a start, and that was what mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, this ended up taking - and being - much longer than I intended it to! My original concept for it was a bit boring, so I combined it with another vague idea I had, and everything spiraled out of control from there. But it's finished now, and I think it turned out pretty well!
> 
> Anyways, hope you enjoyed the action break from your regularly scheduled angst. I'm not sure when I'll get the next chapter done, but it should be much shorter, so hopefully I won't be working on it for as long.

**Author's Note:**

> Mizuki talked about wanting to die right before CAPTaiN and I just... poor baby ;_;


End file.
